{"product_id":"persons-roles-and-minds-identity-in-peony-pavilion-and-peach-blossom-fan-9780804737111","title":"Persons, Roles, and Minds: Identity in Peony Pavilion and Peach Blossom Fan","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Tina Lu\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Stanford University Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Stanford University Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Asian - General\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFocusing on two late-Ming or early-Qing plays central to the Chinese canon, this thought-provoking study explores crucial questions concerning personal identity. How is a person, as opposed to a ghost or animal, to be defined? How can any specific person (as distinguished, for example, from an impostor or twin) be identified? Both plays are \u003ci\u003echuanqi\u003c\/i\u003e, representatives of a monumental genre that represents Chinese dramatic literature at its most complex: Tang Xianzu's \u003ci\u003ePeony Pavilion\u003c\/i\u003e is a romantic comedy in 55 acts, and Kong Shangren's \u003ci\u003ePeach Blossom Fan\u003c\/i\u003e narrates the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 40 acts.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo reader of Chinese literature would find a sexual encounter between a young man and a female ghost surprising. In \u003ci\u003ePeony Pavilion\u003c\/i\u003e, however, the lovers actually marry and join human society--a possibility that invites speculation on the nature of personhood and agency. By contrast, \u003ci\u003ePeach Blossom Fan\u003c\/i\u003e addresses the question of identity in an explicitly political fashion. After the fall of Beijing, many men put forward imperial claims. Who, in a time of turmoil, is truly the Emperor? In a Confucian society, where hierarchy and identity are so interdependent, how does the lack of certainty about the Emperor's identity affect all human identities?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe question of personal identity is intrinsically bound up with questions of agency, legal responsibility, and participation within a polity. Confucian patriarchy, in particular, implies an anxiety of identity: in order to serve one's father appropriately, one must first know who he is. Drawing on related contemporary sources, the author combines a range of perspectives, including literary criticism, philosophy, jurisprudence, and art history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stanford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47614239932567,"sku":"9780804737111","price":17355.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780804737111.webp?v=1775092077","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/persons-roles-and-minds-identity-in-peony-pavilion-and-peach-blossom-fan-9780804737111","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}