{"product_id":"meng-jiangnu-brings-down-the-great-wall-ten-versions-of-a-chinese-legend-paperback","title":"Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall: Ten Versions of a Chinese Legend - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eWilt L. Idema\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMeng Jiangn  Brings Down the Great Wall\u003c\/i\u003e brings together ten versions of a popular Chinese legend that has intrigued readers and listeners for hundreds of years. Elements of the story date back to the early centuries B.C.E. and are an intrinsic part of Chinese literary history. Major themes and subtle nuances of the legend are illuminated here by Wilt L. Idema's new translations and pairings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this classic story, a young woman named Meng Jiang makes a long, solitary journey to deliver winter clothes to her husband, a drafted laborer on the grandiose Great Wall construction project of the notorious First Emperor of the Qin dynasty (BCE 221-208). But her travels end in tragedy when, upon arrival, she learns that her husband has died under the harsh working conditions and been entombed in the wall. Her tears of grief cause the wall to collapse and expose his bones, which she collects for proper burial. In some versions, she tricks the lecherous emperor, who wants to marry her, into providing a stately funeral for her husband and then takes her own life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe versions presented here are ballads and chantefables (alternating chanted verse and recited prose), five from urban printed texts from the late Imperial and early Republican periods, and five from oral performances and partially reconstructed texts collected in rural areas in recent decades. They represent a wide range of genres, regional styles, dates, and content. From one version to another, different elements of the story--the circumstances of Meng Jiangnu's marriage, her relationship with her parents-in-law, the journey to the wall, her grief, her defiance of the emperor--are elaborated upon, downplayed, or left out altogether depending on the particular moral lessons that tale authors wished to impart.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIdema brings together his considerable translation skills and broad knowledge of Chinese literature to present an assortment of tales and insightful commentary that will be a gold mine of information for scholars in a number of disciplines. Haiyan Lee's essay discusses the appeal of the Meng Jiangn  story to twentieth-century literary reformers, and the interpretations they imposed on the material they collected.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilt L. Idema is professor of Chinese literature at Harvard University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eChinese Vernacular Fiction: The Formative Period\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Dramatic Oeuvre of Chu Yu-tun (1379-1439)\u003c\/i\u003e, coauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China\u003c\/i\u003e, and cotranslator of \u003ci\u003eThe Story of the Western Wing\u003c\/i\u003e by Wang Shifu. Haiyan Lee is assistant professor of East Asian languages and civilizations at the University of Colorado. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eRevolution of the Heart: A Genealogy of Love in China, 1900-1950.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 240\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.75 x 8.92 x 6.09 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 31, 2008\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42113618608208,"sku":"9780295987842","price":66.85,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0592\/9540\/0016\/files\/b00rbzBaYzN0R2M2NGp2bExHOWVGQT09.webp?v=1772686269","url":"https:\/\/palm-malen-gift-shop-pmrc.myshopify.com\/products\/meng-jiangnu-brings-down-the-great-wall-ten-versions-of-a-chinese-legend-paperback","provider":"Palm Malen Gift Shop -PMRC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}