The peach blossom fan / K'ung Shang-jen ; translated by Chen Shih-hsiang and Harold Acton, with Cyril Birch ; introduction by Judith T. Zeitlan
- Author:
- Kong, Shangren, 1648-1718
- Uniform Title:
- Tao hua shan. English
- Published:
- New York : NYRB, New York Times Review Books, 2015.
- Physical Description:
- xxxi, 312 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.
- Additional Creators:
- Chen, Shixiang, Acton, Harold, 1904-1994, and Birch, Cyril, 1925-
- Series:
- Contents:
- Machine generated contents note: THE PEACH BLOSSOM FAN -- Prologue -- PART I -- Scene 1 The Storyteller -- Scene 2 The Singing-Master -- Scene 3 The Disrupted Ceremonies -- Scene 4 The Play Observed -- Scene 5 A Visit to the Beauty -- Scene 6 The Fragrant Couch -- Scene 7 The Rejected Trousseau -- Scene 8 A Riverside Occasion -- Scene 9 The Troops Mollified -- Scene 10 The Letter -- Scene 11 A Visit to Headquarters -- Scene 12 The Lovers Parted -- Scene 13 Lament for the Emperor -- Scene 14 The Traitor Blocked -- Scene 15 The Coronation -- Scene 16 The New Regime -- Scene 17 The Matchmakers Resisted -- Scene 18 The Rivals Struggle -- Scene 19 The Pacification Attempt -- Scene 20 The Defence Assignment -- Interlude (Supplementary Scene): A Quiet Chat -- pt. II Prologue to Scene 21 -- Scene 21 The Invented Match -- Scene 22 The Rejected Suit -- Scene 23 The Message on the Fan -- Scene 24 The Revellers Upbraided -- Scene 25 The Cast Selected -- Scene 26 The General Tricked -- Scene 27 A Meeting of Boats -- Scene 28 The Painting Inscribed -- Scene 29 The Club Suppressed -- Scene 30 The Return to the Hills -- Scene 31 The Impeachment Drafted -- Scene 32 The Imperial Mourning -- Scene 33 Reunion in Jail -- Scene 34 The River Fortress -- Scene 35 Call to Battle -- Scene 36 Flight from Disaster -- Scene 37 Theft of the Jewel -- Scene 38 Lost in the River -- Scene 39 Temples of Refuge -- Scene 40 Entering the Way.
- Summary:
- "Written in 1699 and based on the recollections of survivors, The Peach Blossom Fan is a grand historical play about the last days of the Ming dynasty as it fell to the invading Manchus. With compelling vividness, K'ung re-creates confrontations between loyalists and those who sell out to the newest master; nostalgic scenes of dalliance in riverside pavilions; desperate stands on battlements; and rituals of commemoration for the lost empire. Here are gallant generals and sycophantic ministers, court musicians and singing girls, and the love of a talented scholar and a beautiful courtesan. Immensely popular in its own time, The Peach Blossom Fan continues to be performed and has been adapted into films, operas, and modern theater pieces. This lively translation has been out of print for almost four decades"--
- Subject(s):
- ISBN:
- 9781590178768 (paperback : acid-free paper)
1590178769 (paperback : acid-free paper)
View MARC record | catkey: 15988228