Description
Book SynopsisThe contributors to Wanton Women in Late-Imperial Chinese Literature: Models, Genres, Subversions and Traditions draw attention to ‘wanton woman’ themes across time as they were portrayed in court history (McMahon), fiction (Stevenson), drama (Lam, Wu), and songs and ballads (Ôki, Epstein, McLaren). Looking back, the essays challenge us with views of sexual transgression that are more heterogeneous than modern popular focus on Pan Jinlian would suggest. Central among the many insights to be found is that despite gender performance in Chinese history being overwhelmingly determined by the needs of patriarchal authority, men and women in the late imperial period discovered diverse ways in which to reflect on how men constantly sought their own bearings in reference to women.
Trade Review"...the book as a whole offers important new insights into the way traditional Chinese women were controlled." - Ellen Widmer, Wellesley College, in: NAN NÜ 20:2
Table of ContentsEditors’ Preface and Acknowledgements VII List of Contributors xi Introduction Chapter 1 Wanton Women in Late-Imperial Chinese Literature: Models, Genres, Subversions and Traditions 3 Mark Stevenson Part 1 Wanton Women in History and Fiction Chapter 2 The Polyandrous Empress: Imperial Women and their Male Favorites 29 Keith McMahon Chapter 3 The Male Homoerotic Wanton Woman in Late Ming Fiction 54 Mark Stevenson Part 2 Wanton Women in Drama Chapter 4 Musical Seductresses, Chauvinistic Men, and Their Erotic Kunqu Discourse 81 Joseph Lam Chapter 5 Late Ming Urban Life and Wanton Women in Huang Fangyin’s Short Plays 105 Wu Cuncun Part 3 Women’s Songs and Ballads Chapter 6 Wanton, but not Bad: Women in Feng Menglong’s Mountain Songs 129 Yasushi Ôki Chapter 7 Turning the Authorial Table: Women Writing Wanton (Wo)Men, Shame, and Jealousy in Two Qing Tanci 157 Maram Epstein Chapter 8 Gossip, Scandal, and the Wanton Woman in Chinese Song-cycles 184 Anne McLaren Index
