A Topsy-Turvy World: Short Plays and Farces from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (Translations from the Asian Classics)

Playwriting in many forms flourished during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Shorter theatrical genres in particular offered playwrights opportunities for experimentation with both dramatic form and social critique. Despite their originality and wit, these short plays have been overshadowed by the lengthy masterpieces of the southern drama tradition. A Topsy-Turvy World presents English translations of shorter sixteenth-to-eighteenth-century plays, spotlighting a lesser-known side of Chinese drama. Satirical and often earthy, these mostly one-act plays depict deceit, dissembling, reversed gender roles, and sudden upending of fortunes. With zest and humor, they portray henpecked husbands, supercilious and lustful monks, all-too-human sage kings, disgruntled officials, and overreaching young scholars. These plays provide a glimpse of Chinese daily life and mores even as they question or subvert the boundaries of social, moral, and political order. Each translation is preceded by a short introduction that describes the play’s author, context, formal qualities, and textual history. A Topsy-Turvy World offers a new view of a significant period in the development of the Chinese theatrical tradition and provides insight into the role of drama as cultural critique. Table of Contents 6 Introduction 8 Table of Dynasties 20 1. Cracking a Dumb Chan Riddle 22 2. The Mad Drummer: Thrice-Played Yuyang 41 3. Chan Master Yu Has a Dream of Cuixiang 63 4. Real Puppets 90 5. Sublime Jokes from the Back of Beyond 110 6. Pinning Flowers in His Coiffure 156 7. A Song for a Laugh 180 8. Ramblings with Magicians in Lyrics and Songs 241 9. Black and White Donkeys 322 10. Zaju from the Studio of Singing on the Wind 365 11. Song of Dragon Well Tea 400 Appendix: A List of Short Plays from the Period 1400 to 1850 Already Available in English Translation 412 Contributors 416 References 420