The Columbia Anthology of Yuan Drama
The Columbia Anthology of Yuan Drama (Translations from the Asian Classics) by C. T. Hsia, Wai-yee Li, George Kao
2014 | ISBN: 0231122667, 0231122675 | English | 432 pages | PDF | 4 MB
2014 | ISBN: 0231122667, 0231122675 | English | 432 pages | PDF | 4 MB
This anthology features translations of ten seminal plays written during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), a period considered the golden age of Chinese theater. By turns lyrical and earthy, sentimental and ironic, Yuan drama spans a broad emotional, linguistic, and stylistic range. Combining sung arias with declaimed verses and doggerels, dialogues and mime, and jokes and acrobatic feats, Yuan drama formed a vital part of China's culture of performance and entertainment in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
To date, few Yuan-dynasty plays have been translated into English. Well-known translators and scholars have supervised the making of this collection and add a short description to each play. A general introduction situates all selections within their cultural and historical contexts.