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The Fragrant Companions
A Play About Love Between Women
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The Fragrant Companions
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for readers interested in Chinese literature, gender and sexuality studies, and theatrical works, as well as those drawn to historical romantic comedies and cultural satire.
The Fragrant Companions is the most significant work of literature that portrays female same-sex love in the entire premodern Chinese tradition. It is at once an unconventional romantic comedy, a barbed satire, and a sympathetic portrayal of love between women.
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Description
Two young gentry women meet by chance at a nunnery in Yangzhou, where they fall in love at first sight. After they exchange poetry and recognise each other's literary talents, their emotional bond deepens. They conduct a mock wedding ceremony at the nunnery and hatch a plan to spend the rest of their lives together. Their schemes are stymied by a series of obstacles, but in the end, the two women find an unlikely resolutionβa mΓ©nage-Γ -trois marriage.
The Fragrant Companions is the most significant work of literature that portrays female same-sex love in the entire premodern Chinese tradition. Written in 1651 by Li Yu, one of the most inventive and irreverent literary figures of seventeenth-century China, this play is at once an unconventional romantic comedy, a barbed satire, and a sympathetic portrayal of love between women. It offers a sensitive portrait of the two women's passion for each other, depicts their intellectual pursuits and resourcefulness, and celebrates their partial triumph over social convention. At the same time, Li caustically mocks the imperial examination system and deflates the idealised image of the male scholar.
The Fragrant Companions is both an indispensable source for students and scholars of gender and sexuality in premodern China and a compelling work of literature for all readers interested in China's rich theatrical traditions.
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
This engaging and lively translation brings Li Yu's maverick play on female romance to a contemporary audience, highlighting its resonance with modern discussions on sexuality and gender. Praised for its literary quality and vivid depiction of life in seventeenth-century China, it is considered indispensable for both students and theatre adaptations. Scholars commend it as a significant contribution to Chinese theatrical traditions and gender studies.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780231206297
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 12 July 2022
Country: United States
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Contributors:
- Translated by Stephen Roddy
- Translated by Ying Wang
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 140.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 400
About the Author
Li Yu (1611β1680) was a popular author, playwright, and theatrical impresario with a reputation for tales that tested social limits. He was born into a gentry family, but after the chaos of the Ming-Qing transition kept him from an official career, he became a commercially successful writer. Liβs works in English translation include A Couple of Soles: A Comic Play from Seventeenth-Century China (Columbia, 2019).
Stephen Roddy is a professor of languages, literatures, and cultures at the University of San Francisco.
Ying Wang is Felicia Gressitt Bock Professor of Asian Studies at Mount Holyoke College.
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