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Full Description
Written around 1660, the unique Chinese short story collection Idle Talk under the Bean Arbor (Doupeng xianhua), by the author known only as Aina the Layman, uses the seemingly innocuous setting of neighbors swapping yarns on hot summer days under a shady arbor to create a series of stories that embody deep disillusionment with traditional values. The tales, ostensibly told by different narrators, parody heroic legends and explore issues that contributed to the fall of the Ming dynasty a couple of decades before this collection was written, including self-centeredness and social violence. These stories speak to all troubled times, demanding that readers confront the pretense that may lurk behind moralistic stances.
Idle Talk under the Bean Arbor presents all twelve stories in English translation along with notes from the original commentator, as well as a helpful introduction and analysis of individual stories.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction Gossip and Exaggeration in Aina's Short Stories / Robert E. Hegel
Terms of Measurement and Titles
Chronology of China's Historical Periods (Dynasties and States)
Preface: Dashed off by Whistling Crane of the Empty Heavens / Translated by Li Qiancheng
Foreword written by Aina the Layman from Shengshui, with Commentary by Ziran the Eccentric Wanderer from Yuanhu / Translated by Li Qiancheng
Session 1: Jie Zhitui Sets Fire to His Jealous Wife / Translated by Mei Chun and Lane J. Harris
Session 2: Fan Li Drowns Xishi in West Lake / Translated by Li Fang-yu
Session 3: A Court-Appointed Gentleman Squanders His Wealth but Takes Power / Translated by Alexander C. Wille
Session 4: The Commissioner's Son Wastes His Patrimony to Revive the Family / Translated by Li Fang-yu
Session 5: The Little Beggar Who Was Truly Filial / Translated by Zhang Jing
Session 6: The Exalted Monks Who Faked Transcendence / Translated by Zhang Jing
Session 7: On Shouyang Mountain, Shuqi Becomes a Turncoat / Translated by Mei Chun and Lane J. Harris
Session 8: With a Transparent Stone, Master Wei Opens Blind Eyes / Translated by Alexander C. Wille
Session 9: Liu the Brave Tests a Horse on the Yuyang Road / Translated by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen
Session 10: Freeloader Jia Forms a League on Tiger Hill / Translated by Robert E. Hegel and Xu Yunjing
Session 11: In Death, Commander Dang Beheads His Enemy / Translated by Lindsey Waldrop
Session 12: In Detail, Rector Chen Discourses on the Cosmos / Translated by Robert E. Hegel
Afterthoughts on Stories
Historical and Cultural References
Notes
Glossary of Chinese Characters
Bibliography
Contributors
