Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall

Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall PDF Author:
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295800127
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
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

Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall PDF Author:
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295800127
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book Here

Book Description
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.

中国人文标识系列:长城,故国与家园(英)The Great Wall, Ancient China and Homeland

中国人文标识系列:长城,故国与家园(英)The Great Wall, Ancient China and Homeland PDF Author: 魏敏
Publisher: China Intercontinental Press
ISBN: 7508545486
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
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?你知道西水峪水长城上,春天的美景宛如桃花源吗?烽两位作者将历史与现实、人文与风光、正史与传说、资料与实践结合在一起,用风趣的语言、精美的图片、独特的立意,向我们展示了一个不一样的长城,一个更加生动的、有血有肉的长城。 With a total length of 21196.18 kilometers (including 6,259.6 kilometers of artificial walls), the Great Wall represents the wisdom of the Chinese nation developed since ancient times. It has been a mute witness of Chinese history stretching back more than two millennia. It is the largest ancient defense pro- ject constructed over the longest span of time. Since there was a historical record of the two Chinese characters Chang Cheng (Great Wall) in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BCE), the work of building and maintaining it has been a continuous process for well over two thousand years encompass- ing vast areas of north and central China. The Great Wall bears the precious historical memory and national spirit of the Chinese nation. With the passage of time, many sections along its 5,000- km length have been destroyed, although the names remain. Sections of the Great Wall extant today, known almost to all, include Badaling, Shanhaiguan and Jiayuguan. We hope this book can bring readers different experiences of an Earth- based structure visible. The areas bisected by it include deserts and grass- lands, rivers and the remains of enemy towers. May the words recorded here make it possible for readers to gain a better understanding of this world his- torical heritage site.

The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Folk and Popular Literature

The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Folk and Popular Literature PDF Author: Victor H. Mair
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231153139
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 662

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Book Description
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 China's oral-based literary heritage. This collection presents works drawn from the large body of oral literature of many of China's recognized ethnic groups--including the Han, Yi, Miao, Tu, Daur, Tibetan, Uyghur, and Kazak--and the selections include a variety of genres. Chapters cover folk stories, songs, rituals, and drama, as well as epic traditions and professional storytelling, and feature both familiar and little-known texts, from the story of the woman warrior Hua Mulan to the love stories of urban storytellers in the Yangtze delta, the shaman rituals of the Manchu, and a trickster tale of the Daur people from the forests of the northeast. The Cannibal Grandmother of the Yi and other strange creatures and characters unsettle accepted notions of Chinese fable and literary form. Readers are introduced to antiphonal songs of the Zhuang and the Dong, who live among the fantastic limestone hills of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; work and matchmaking songs of the mountain-dwelling She of Fujian province; and saltwater songs of the Cantonese-speaking boat people of Hong Kong. The editors feature the Mongolian epic poems of Geser Khan and Jangar; the sad tale of the Qeo family girl, from the Tu people of Gansu and Qinghai provinces; and local plays known as "rice sprouts" from Hebei province. These fascinating juxtapositions invite comparisons among cultures, styles, and genres, and expert translations preserve the individual character of each thrillingly imaginative work.

Asian Folk Tales and Legends

Asian Folk Tales and Legends PDF Author: Suzee Leong
Publisher: MPH Group Publishing Sdn Bhd
ISBN: 9674154787
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description
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 touch on the mystical, the comic and tragic, and the weird and wonderful. Readers of different ages will be deeply moved or entertained by them.

Binu and the Great Wall

Binu and the Great Wall PDF Author: Su Tong
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 0802197728
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
“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 Lantern (The Observer). In Peach village, crying was forbidden. But as a child, Binu never learned to hide her tears. Shunned by the villagers, she faced a bleak future until she met Qiliang, an orphan who offered her his hand in marriage. Then, one day, Qiliang disappears. Binu learns that he has been transported hundreds of miles and forced to labor on a project of terrifying ambition and scale—the building of the Great Wall of China. Unwilling to live a life without him, Binu courageously decides to find and save her husband. Inspired by her love, she sets out on an extraordinary journey toward Great Swallow Mountain with only a blind frog for company. What follows is an adventure unlike any she could have ever imagined, in this “gripping, insightful . . . tragic tale of female strength and ultimately, love” (Time Out).

Unnatural Narrative across Borders

Unnatural Narrative across Borders PDF Author: Biwu Shang
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429859236
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
This book actively engages with current discussion of narratology, and unnatural narrative theory in particular. Unsatisfied with the hegemony of European and Anglo-American narrative theory, it calls for a transnational and comparative turn in unnatural narrative theory, the purpose of which is to draw readers’ attention to those periphery and marginalized narratives produced in places other than England and America. It places equal weight on theoretical exploration and critical practice. The book, in addition to offering a detailed account of current scholarship of unnatural narratology, examines its core issues and critical debates as well as outlining a set of directions for its future development. To present a counterpart of Western unnatural narrative studies, this book specifically takes a close look at the experimental narratives in China and Iraq either synchronically or diachronically. In doing so, it aims, on the one hand, to show how the unnatural narratives are written and to be explained differently from those Western unnatural narrative works, and on the other hand, to use the particular cases to challenge the existing narratological framework so as to further enrich and supplement it. The book will be useful and inspiring to those scholars working in such broad fields as narrative theory, literary criticism, cultural studies, semiotics, media studies, and comparative literature and world literature studies.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall PDF Author: William Lindesay
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
ISBN: 9781402731600
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
It is arguably the greatest feat of civil engineering in history, and indisputably earth s largest single cultural relic: begun during the Qin Dynasty (around 208 BC) and completed nearly 1,800 years later during the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall of China spans more than 4,000 miles. At the dawn of the Beijing Olympics, the eyes of all the world are upon it. Two men who navigated every inch of the Wall have collaborated on a lavishly-illustrated tribute to this amazing structure. Michael Yamashita, an award-winning "National Geographic" photographer, spent a year shooting the Wall, its environs, and the people who live in its shadow, for the magazine. One hundred and sixty of his magnificent photos grace this volume, which features text by William Lindesay, who not only conducts tours of the Wall and spearheads the movement to preserve it, but has actually run its entire length. Broken into three sections, "The Great Wall" provides an overview that debunks myths and dishes up rare facts and figures, a comprehensive history that proceeds dynasty by dynasty through its construction, and an account of Lindesay s personal experiences of the Wall."

The Great Wall

The Great Wall PDF Author: John Man
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 078673177X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
The Great Wall of China is a wonder of the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of tourists take the five-mile journey from Beijing to climb its battlements. While myriad photographs have made this extraordinary landmark familiar to millions more, its story remains mysterious and steeped in myth. In this riveting account, John Man travels the entire length of the Great Wall and across two millennia to find the truth behind the legends. Along the way, he delves into the remarkable and complex history of China -- from the country's tribal past, through the war with the Mongols, right up to the modern day when the Great Wall is once more a commanding emblem of China, the resurgent superpower.

Feminism, Women's Agency, and Communication in Early Twentieth-Century China

Feminism, Women's Agency, and Communication in Early Twentieth-Century China PDF Author: Qiliang He
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331989692X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Feminism, Women’s Agency, and Communication in Early Twentieth-Century China focuses on a sensational elopement in the Yangzi Delta in the late 1920s to explore how middle- and lower-class members of society gained access to and appropriated otherwise alien and abstract enlightenment theories and idioms about love, marriage, and family. Via a network of communications that connected people of differing socioeconomic and educational backgrounds, non-elite women were empowered to display their new womanhood and thereby exercise their self-activating agency to mount resistance to China’s patriarchal system. Qiliang He’s text also investigates the proliferation of anti-feminist conservatisms in legal practice, scholarly discourses, media, and popular culture in the early Nanjing Decade (1927-1937). Utilizing a framework of interdisciplinary scholarship, this book traverses various fields such as legal history, women’s history, popular culture/media studies, and literary studies to explore urban discourse and communication in 1920s China.

Rebirth Of Medical Princess

Rebirth Of Medical Princess PDF Author: Qi Lefeifei
Publisher: Funstory
ISBN: 1648461891
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1050

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Book Description
framing she was going to dissolve it forge a gang it wasn't her style he accidentally teleported to the weak young miss of the ancient general's mansion who was bullied and bullied he accidentally caught the attention of the fourth prince saw how sharp she was killed the villain abused the wicked woman and killed everyone who blocked her path there were many corpses under the pomegranate skirt the path to the harem was not easy but the prince of the windflow had already pulled her into his arms couples working together they will have a bright future