The power of theatrical performance is universal, but the style and concerns of theatre are specific to individual cultures.The third volume in the Global Theatre Anthologies series presents six of the most iconic classical and modern plays from China. By exploring the older works alongside important pieces from across the modern period, students gain insight to the theatrical and cultural values that seem to be foundational to Chinese drama.The volume make...

Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .Manchuria, 1908.In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful ...

A finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction PrizeA dazzling historical-fiction debut perfect for readers of Amy Tan and Lisa SeeCivil war China is fractured by social and political change. Behind the magnificent gates of the Song family estate, however, none of this upheaval has touched Leiyin, a spoiled and idealistic teenager. But when Leiyin meets the captivating left-wing poet Hanchin, she defies her father and learns a harsh reality: that ...

The Reverend of Empty Words, a monster that feeds off the fears of the fortunate, is hunting Xie Lian's friend, the Wind Master Shi Qingxuan. Knowing that his abysmal luck inoculates him from the creature's power, Xie Lian doesn't hesitate to throw himself into harm's way--to Hua Cheng's horror and panic. But another one of the Four Calamities may be closer than anyone knows, and even a ghost as powerful as Hua Cheng can lose control under the right circumstances. With his inhibitions gone...

Ghosts are converging on the cursed Mount Tonglu for a massive battle royale, the sole survivor of which may become a Ghost King, a being of unimaginable power. Xie Lian is sent to secretly infiltrate and try to prevent this--by destroying any ghosts strong enough to stand a chance. His heavenly powers are weakened near the cursed mountain, but he has one trump card on his side--Hua Cheng, who has survived Mount Tonglu before. As they struggle against murderous ghosts and the mountain's st...

What happens after an epic tale ends? This collection of eleven short stories picks up days after Scum Villain's finale and follows the cast's relationships and adventures through their pasts and futures. The first trial? A glimpse into another world, where Luo Binghe was never saved by his beloved teacher--unless he can claim this world's Shen Qingqiu for himself. Other tales recount the riotous history of Shang Qinghua and Mobei-Jun, the bittersweet romance of Luo Binghe's parents, and t...

In a sunny California apartment, a young woman and her fiancé arrive to record her great-grandmother's story. The story that unfolds of Precious Orchid's life in China, where she rises from a childhood of shame to become one of the most successful courtesans in the land, is unlike any they've heard before. . .When Precious Orchid's father is falsely accused of a crime and found guilty, he is executed, leaving his family a legacy of dishonor. Her mother's only option is to enter a B...

This collection of tales opens up a magical world far from our customary haunts. Ghost stories, romances, fables, and heroic sagas: the forms are familiar, but the characters we meet surprise us at every turn. For those who know and love the tales of the Grimms and Andersen, the universal themes of fairy tale literature emerge in these classic stories, but with a sophistication that is uniquely Chinese and altogether entrancing.With black-and-white drawings throughout

Lady Bai's first taste of freedom brings her face-to-face with murder. A dangerous and enigmatic stranger becomes her ally while the killer may be someone closer than she ever imagined. Part of the bestselling Lotus Palace seriesLady Bai, called Wei-wei by her aristocratic family, has always been the perfectly obedient daughter--but only on the outside. When she dares to pay a forbidden visit to a public tea garden in men's clothing, only Gao looks close enough to ...

Unmatched in scope and literary quality, this landmark anthology spans three thousand years, bringing together more than six hundred poems by more than one hundred thirty poets, in translations–many new and exclusive to the book–by an array of distinguished translators.Here is the grand sweep of Chinese poetry, from the Book of Songs–ancient folk songs said to have been collected by Confucius himself–and Laozi’s Dao De Jingto the vividly pictorial ...

Pai Hsien-yung is among the most important writers in contemporary Chinese and world literature. His masterpiece Taipei People is a classic of Taiwanese modernism; with an intensity of vision comparable to James Joyce’s Dubliners, it follows the individual struggles of the Taipei people, with a mix of compassion, nostalgia, mourning, and tenacious clarity.Fifty years after its publication, the collection continues to move readers around the world. Stories from this collect...

“The greatest novel of physical love which China has produced.” — Pearl S. BuckA saga of ruthless ambition, murder, and, famously, Chinese erotica, The Golden Lotus (also known as The Plum in the Golden Vase) has been called the fifth Great Classical Novel in Chinese Literature and one of the Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel. Admired in its own time for its literary qualities and biting indictment of the immorality and cruelty of its age, this C...