{"product_id":"persons-roles-and-minds-identity-in-peony-pavilion-and-peach-blossom-fan-9780804742023","title":"Persons, Roles, and Minds: Identity in Peony Pavilion and Peach Blossom Fan","description":"Focusing on two late-Ming or early-Qing plays central to the Chinese canon, this thought-provoking study explores crucial questions concerning personal identity. How is a person, as opposed to a ghost or animal, to be defined? How can any specific person (as distinguished, for example, from an impostor or twin) be identified? Both plays are \u003ci\u003echuanqi\u003c\/i\u003e, representatives of a monumental genre that represents Chinese dramatic literature at its most complex: Tang Xianzu's \u003ci\u003ePeony Pavilion\u003c\/i\u003e is a romantic comedy in 55 acts, and Kong Shangren's \u003ci\u003ePeach Blossom Fan\u003c\/i\u003e narrates the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 40 acts. No reader of Chinese literature would find a sexual encounter between a young man and a female ghost surprising. In \u003ci\u003ePeony Pavilion\u003c\/i\u003e, however, the lovers actually marry and join human society--a possibility that invites speculation on the nature of personhood and agency. By contrast, \u003ci\u003ePeach Blossom Fan\u003c\/i\u003e addresses the question of identity in an explicitly political fashion. After the fall of Beijing, many men put forward imperial claims. Who, in a time of turmoil, is truly the Emperor? In a Confucian society, where hierarchy and identity are so interdependent, how does the lack of certainty about the Emperor's identity affect all human identities? The question of personal identity is intrinsically bound up with questions of agency, legal responsibility, and participation within a polity. Confucian patriarchy, in particular, implies an anxiety of identity: in order to serve one's father appropriately, one must first know who he is. Drawing on related contemporary sources, the author combines a range of perspectives, including literary criticism, philosophy, jurisprudence, and art history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Tina Lu\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Stanford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.83d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780804742023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReference and Research Bk News\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2002 pg. 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTina Lu is Assistant Professor of Chinese Literature at the University of Pennsylvania.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stanford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":40141668450419,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_57ada2f2-f885-43d8-9b46-9f15b7e9ef51.jpg?v=1654521107","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/persons-roles-and-minds-identity-in-peony-pavilion-and-peach-blossom-fan-9780804742023","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}