The Columbia Anthology of Yuan Drama (Translations from the Asian Classics)

This anthology features translations of ten seminal plays written during the Yuan dynasty (12791368), a period considered the golden age of Chinese theater. By turns lyrical and earthy, sentimental and ironic, Yuan drama spans a broad emotional, linguistic, and stylistic range. Combining sung arias with declaimed verses and doggerels, dialogues and mime, and jokes and acrobatic feats, Yuan drama formed a vital part of China's culture of performance and entertainment in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. To date, few Yuan-dynasty plays have been translated into English. Well-known translators and scholars have supervised the making of this collection and add a short description to each play. A general introduction situates all selections within their cultural and historical contexts. Columbia University Press This Anthology Features Translations Of Ten Seminal Plays Written During The Yuan Dynasty (1279?1368), A Period Considered The Golden Age Of Chinese Theater. By Turns Lyrical And Earthy, Sentimental And Ironic, Yuan Drama Spans A Broad Emotional, Linguistic, And Stylistic Range. Combining Sung Arias With Declaimed Verses And Doggerels, Dialogues And Mime, And Jokes And Acrobatic Feats, Yuan Drama Formed A Vital Part Of China's Culture Of Performance And Entertainment In The Thirteenth And Fourteenth Centuries. To Date, Few Yuan-dynasty Plays Have Been Translated Into English. Well-known. Introduction / Wai-yee Li -- Historical Plays -- Folly And Consequences -- Female Agency -- Romantic Love. C.t. Hsia, Wai-yee Li, & George Kao, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 403-409). 6. Li Zhifu, The Tiger Head Plaque, translated by Yoram Szekely, C.T. Hsia, Wai-yee Li, and George KaoPart 4. Female Agency; 7. Guan Hanqing, Rescuing a Sister, translated by George Kao and Wai-yee Li; 8. Shi Junbao, Qiu Hu Tries to Seduce His Wife, translated by John Coleman, James M. Hargett, Kuan-fook Lai, Gloria Shen, and Wang Ming; Part 5. Romantic Love; 9. Bai Pu, On Horseback and Over the Garden Wall, translated by Jerome Cavanaugh and Wai-yee Li; 10. Li Haogu, Scholar Zhang Boils the Sea, translated by Allen A. Zimmerman; Bibliography