Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall

Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall
Author :
Publisher : University of Washington Press
Total Pages : 240
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780295800127
ISBN-13 : 0295800127
Rating : 4/5 (27 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall by :

Download or read book Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall written by and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall brings together ten versions of a popular Chinese legend that has intrigued readers and listeners for hundreds of years. Elements of the story date back to the early centuries B.C.E. and are an intrinsic part of Chinese literary history. Major themes and subtle nuances of the legend are illuminated here by Wilt L. Idema's new translations and pairings. In this classic story, a young woman named Meng Jiang makes a long, solitary journey to deliver winter clothes to her husband, a drafted laborer on the grandiose Great Wall construction project of the notorious First Emperor of the Qin dynasty (BCE 221-208). But her travels end in tragedy when, upon arrival, she learns that her husband has died under the harsh working conditions and been entombed in the wall. Her tears of grief cause the wall to collapse and expose his bones, which she collects for proper burial. In some versions, she tricks the lecherous emperor, who wants to marry her, into providing a stately funeral for her husband and then takes her own life. The versions presented here are ballads and chantefables (alternating chanted verse and recited prose), five from urban printed texts from the late Imperial and early Republican periods, and five from oral performances and partially reconstructed texts collected in rural areas in recent decades. They represent a wide range of genres, regional styles, dates, and content. From one version to another, different elements of the story--the circumstances of Meng Jiangnu's marriage, her relationship with her parents-in-law, the journey to the wall, her grief, her defiance of the emperor--are elaborated upon, downplayed, or left out altogether depending on the particular moral lessons that tale authors wished to impart. Idema brings together his considerable translation skills and broad knowledge of Chinese literature to present an assortment of tales and insightful commentary that will be a gold mine of information for scholars in a number of disciplines. Haiyan Lee's essay discusses the appeal of the Meng Jiangnü story to twentieth-century literary reformers, and the interpretations they imposed on the material they collected.


Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall Related Books

Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall
Language: en
Pages: 240
Authors:
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2012-03-15 - Publisher: University of Washington Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall brings together ten versions of a popular Chinese legend that has intrigued readers and listeners for hundreds of years
中国人文标识系列:长城,故国与家园(英)The Great Wall, Ancient China and Homeland
Language: en
Pages: 350
Authors: 魏敏
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-02-01 - Publisher: China Intercontinental Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

你知道有个叫八台子的地方,长城与教堂相依偎吗?你知道在老牛湾,长城与中华民族的母亲河——黄河相交融吗?你知�
Binu and the Great Wall
Language: en
Pages: 312
Authors: Su Tong
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2008-03-06 - Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“A wonderful read—with all of a fairy tale’s leaps and turns and queer, vivid images” by the author of the international bestseller Raise the Red Lanter
The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Folk and Popular Literature
Language: en
Pages: 662
Authors: Victor H. Mair
Categories: Education
Type: BOOK - Published: 2011 - Publisher: Columbia University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Folk and Popular Literature, two of the world's leading sinologists, Victor H. Mair and Mark Bender, capture the breadth of
Asian Folk Tales and Legends
Language: en
Pages: 154
Authors: Suzee Leong
Categories:
Type: BOOK - Published: - Publisher: MPH Group Publishing Sdn Bhd

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Every country has its own enduring stories. Heroes and heroines leave behind a legacy in folklore. This collection comprises memorable folk tales from Asia that