Emerging from Anonymity: The First Generation of Writers of Songs and Drama in Mid-Ming Nanjing

This article traces the first generation of writers of songs and drama in Nanjing who emerged from the anonymous context of early Ming court entertainment and established their name and reputation in the second half of the fifteenth century. These writers—Shi Zhong (1437-after 1516), Chen Duo (1454?-1507?), and Xu Lin (1462-1538)—represented a different mode of writing songs and drama. For them it was no longer a professional occupation, as in the case of the court performers, but became part of their cultural and social life. The extent to which our knowledge of these first generation qu writers depends on local sources and on acts of remembrance by later Nanjing authors is also examined

“Reciprocal gaze” in the age of globalisation and digital humanities: an interview with Professor Tan Tian Yuan

This interview commences with Professor Tan Tian Yuan’s recalling his educational path and academic career. Then Professor Tan gives us his own opinions on various topics, including his research approaches of later imperial vernacular literatures, the interactions between so-called Chinese scholarship and overseas Sinology, SOAS and Oxford’s contributions to British Sinology and his ongoing TEXTCOURT project. Professor Tan also shares his viewpoints on multiple aspects and characteristics of Chinese literature and culture, “New World Literature,” and the relation between traditional Chinese culture and modern Chinese culture

Springtime Passion and Literary Tradition in Peony Pavilion

Mudan ting牡丹亭 (Peony Pavilion), written by Tang Xianzu 湯顯祖(1550-1616) in the late sixteenth century, remains one of the most read and frequently performed Chinese drama nowadays. Best known for its depiction of qing 情 (emotion, passion), the drama is replete with allusions, topoi, and words of love. Building on my earlier work studying Mudan ting as an intertext of love in Passion, Romance, and Qing (Brill, 2014), in this paper I discuss the complex concept of love in the drama, focusing on the terms and concepts of love associated with the meanings of spring. The playwright and his characters repeatedly remind us that love is most complex and difficult to tell or comprehend. If so, how could such emotions and desires be expressed? This paper explores the strong presence and function of Chinese literary tradition in the process of the discovery and communication of the meanings of love in the drama