Fortress Besieged (New Directions Classic)

Fortress Besieged (New Directions Classic) PDF Author: Qian Zhongshu
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 081122354X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
The greatest Chinese novel of the twentieth century, Fortress Besieged is a classic of world literature, a masterpiece of parodic fiction that plays with Western literary traditions, philosophy, and middle-class Chinese society in the Republican era. Set on the eve of the Sino-Japanese War, our hapless hero Fang Hung-chien (á la Emma Bovary), with no particular goal in life and with a bogus degree from a fake American university in hand, returns home to Shanghai. On the French liner home, he meets two Chinese beauties, Miss Su and Miss Pao. Qian writes, "With Miss Pao it wasn't a matter of heart or soul. She hadn't any change of heart, since she didn't have a heart." In a sort of painful comedy, Fang obtains a teaching post at a newly established university where the effete pseudo-intellectuals he encounters in academia become the butt of Qian's merciless satire. Soon Fang is trapped into a marriage of Nabokovian proportions of distress and absurdity. Recalling Fielding's Tom Jones in its farcical litany of misadventures and Flaubert's "style indirect libre," Fortress Besieged is its own unique feast of delights.

Fortress Besieged (New Directions Classic)

Fortress Besieged (New Directions Classic) PDF Author: Qian Zhongshu
Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 081122354X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
The greatest Chinese novel of the twentieth century, Fortress Besieged is a classic of world literature, a masterpiece of parodic fiction that plays with Western literary traditions, philosophy, and middle-class Chinese society in the Republican era. Set on the eve of the Sino-Japanese War, our hapless hero Fang Hung-chien (á la Emma Bovary), with no particular goal in life and with a bogus degree from a fake American university in hand, returns home to Shanghai. On the French liner home, he meets two Chinese beauties, Miss Su and Miss Pao. Qian writes, "With Miss Pao it wasn't a matter of heart or soul. She hadn't any change of heart, since she didn't have a heart." In a sort of painful comedy, Fang obtains a teaching post at a newly established university where the effete pseudo-intellectuals he encounters in academia become the butt of Qian's merciless satire. Soon Fang is trapped into a marriage of Nabokovian proportions of distress and absurdity. Recalling Fielding's Tom Jones in its farcical litany of misadventures and Flaubert's "style indirect libre," Fortress Besieged is its own unique feast of delights.

Essays on Chinese Literature

Essays on Chinese Literature PDF Author: Yoon-wah Wong
Publisher: NUS Press
ISBN: 9789971691097
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description


Humans, Beasts, and Ghosts

Humans, Beasts, and Ghosts PDF Author: Zhongshu Qian
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231152752
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
This book brings together the essay collection "Written in the margins of life (Xie zai ren sheng bian shang)" and the short story collection "Human, beast, ghost (Ren shou gui)."

The Construction of Metaphoric Text and Talk

The Construction of Metaphoric Text and Talk PDF Author: Meizhen Liao
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793607281
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
The Construction of Metaphoric Text and Talk: A Discourse Analytic Approach argues that in view of their omnipresence in human thinking and action, metaphors play a very important role in discourse construction and organization and this role can be textural and textual. In order to explore the textual role of metaphors, Meizhen Liao proposes that metaphors in discourse be treated as a complex adaptive system (CAS), which is further composed of two sub-systems, a micro one consisted of the tenor and the vehicle and a macro one made up of different metaphors. The dynamic interaction within the micro system between the tenor and the vehicle in terms of mapping, as well as among the macro system of all the metaphors in the text or talk via competition, cooperation, or complementation contributes to the construction and organization of discourse as an adaptive process in pursuit for the goal or goals of the discourse. In the process of the interaction, emergent textual patterns develop and an adequate analysis of the patterns at both micro and macro as well as deep and surface levels of discourse will shed light on the true nature and pattern of human thinking and action. The author concludes that as metaphor has become entrenched in our conceptual system the study of metaphor as a complex adaptive system in discourse be conducted in its own right.

Translation in Transition

Translation in Transition PDF Author: Isabel Lacruz
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027249768
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
Extraordinary advances in machine translation over the last three quarters of a century have profoundly affected many aspects of the translation profession. The widespread integration of adaptive “artificially intelligent” technologies has radically changed the way many translators think and work. In turn, groundbreaking empirical research has yielded new perspectives on the cognitive basis of the human translation process. Translation is in the throes of radical transition on both professional and academic levels. The game-changing introduction of neural machine translation engines almost a decade ago accelerated these transitions. This volume takes stock of the depth and breadth of resulting developments, highlighting the emerging rivalry of human and machine intelligence. The gathering and analysis of big data is a common thread that has given access to new insights in widely divergent areas, from literary translation to movie subtitling to consecutive interpreting to development of flexible and powerful new cognitive models of translation.

Enigma of China

Enigma of China PDF Author: Qiu Xiaolong
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 125002580X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The eighth novel in Qiu Xiaolong's acclaimed Chinese crime series sees Inspector Chen confronted by a terrible choice between Party politics or his principles - with his career at stake

Global Literary Criticism

Global Literary Criticism PDF Author: Hongxin Jiang
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 152758545X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
This timely book offers uplifting examples of major figures in Chinese and Western civilization from ancient to modern times who learned from and influenced each other. Rather than emphasizing cultural differences, this inspiring text highlights successful dialogue, commonalities, and mutual influences in this regard. Readers familiar with the Western canon will discover surprising influences of China on well-known Anglosphere writers and critics. Drawing on an expansive range of periods in the East and West from classical to contemporary times, it is a tour-de-force of theoretical range and practical impact. Starting with Confucius and Socrates, the chapters move chronologically on to address such major figures in Eastern writing as Zhuangzi, Qian Zhongshu, and Zhang Longxi, and Western figures including T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Empson, Nietzsche, and Fredric Jameson. The book will appeal to scholars and students at all educational levels, as well as the general public interested in understanding past and current East-West cultural relations.

The Fortress of Rhodes 1309–1522

The Fortress of Rhodes 1309–1522 PDF Author: Konstantin Nossov
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782000038
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
First besieged in 305 BC, the island of Rhodes became part of the Roman Empire and was later fortified in the Byzantine style. Due to its strategic position in the Mediterranean, Rhodes was also attacked and besieged for over a century by Islamic forces. This title details the development of these fascinating fortifications, as well as the sieges that sought to reduce them.

Franz Kafka and Chinese Culture

Franz Kafka and Chinese Culture PDF Author: Yanbing Zeng
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811926042
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
This book conducts a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of Franz Kafka’s relation to China. Commencing with an examination of the myriad Chinese cultural influences to which Kafka was exposed, it goes on to explore the ways in which they manifest themselves in canonical stories, such as Description of A Struggle, The Great Wall of China, and An Old Manuscript. This leads the way to thought-provoking comparative studies of Kafka and major Chinese writers and philosophers, such as Zhuang Tzu, Pu Songling, Qian Zhongshu, and Lu Xun. Highlighting kindred philosophical concepts, shared aesthetic tastes, and parallel narrative strategies, these comparisons transcend mere textual analysis, to explore the profound cultural, historical, and philosophical implications of Kafka’s works. Finally, the book turns to an examination Kafka’s impact on modern life in China, including its translation studies, literature, and even its mass culture.

In the Name of Justice

In the Name of Justice PDF Author: Weifang He
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815722915
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Of all the issues presented by China’s ongoing economic and sociopolitical transformation, none may ultimately prove as consequential as the development of the Chinese legal system. Even as public demand for the rule of law grows, the Chinese Communist Party still interferes in legal affairs and continues in its harsh treatment of human rights lawyers and activists. Both the frequent occurrences of social unrest in recent years and the growing tension between China’s various interest groups underline the urgency of developing a sound and sustainable legal system. As one of China’s most influential law professors, He Weifang has been at the forefront of the country’s treacherous path toward justice and judicial independence for over a decade. Among his many remarkable endeavors was a successful petition in 2003 that abolished China’s controversial regulations permitting the internment and deportation of urban “vagrants,” bringing to an end two decades of legal discrimination against migrant workers. His bold remarks at the famous New Western Hills Symposium in 2006, including his assertion that “China’s party-state structure violates the PRC Constitution,” are considered a watershed moment in the century-long movement for a constitutional China. With In the Name of Justice, He presents his critical assessment of the state of Chinese legal reform. In addition to a selection of his academic writings, this unique book also includes many of He Weifang’s public speeches, media interviews, and open letters, providing additional insight into his dual roles as thinker and practitioner in the Chinese legal world. Among the topics covered are judicial independence, judicial review, legal education, capital punishment, and the legal protection of free speech and human rights. The volume also offers a historical review of the evolution of Chinese traditional legal thought, enhanced by cross-country comparisons. A proponent of reform rather than revolution, He believes only true constitutionalism can guarantee social justice and enduring stability for China. "He Weifang has argued for two decades that rule of law, however inconvenient at times to some of those who govern, must be embraced because it is ultimately the most reliable protector of the interests of the country, of the average citizen, and, in fact, even of those who govern."—from the Foreword by John L. Thornton, chairman, Brookings Institution Board of Trustees and Professor and Director of Global Leadership at Tsinghua University "What struck me—and shocked me as a foreign visitor—was not only that the entire discussion was explicitly critical of the Chinese Communist Party for its resistance to any meaningful judicial reform, but also that the atmosphere was calm, reasonable, and marked by a sense of humor and sophistication in the expression of ideas."—from the Introduction by Cheng Li, director of research and senior fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings