Approaches to Teaching The Plum in the Golden Vase (The Golden Lotus)

The Plum in the Golden Vase (also known as The Golden Lotus) was published in the early seventeenth century and may be the first long work of Chinese fiction written by a single (though anonymous) author. Featuring both complex structural elements and psychological and emotional realism, the novel centers on the rich merchant Ximen Qing and his household and describes the physical surroundings and material objects of a Ming Dynasty city. In part a social, political, and moral critique, the novel reflects on hierarchical power relations of family and state and the materialism of life at the time.

The essays in this volume provide ideas for teaching the novel using a variety of approaches, from questions of genre, intertextuality, and the novel's reception to material culture, family and social dynamics, and power structures in sexual relations. Insights into the novel's representation of Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, legal culture, class, slavery, and obscenity are offered throughout the volume.

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Approaches to Teaching The Plum in the Golden Vase (The Golden Lotus)

The Plum in the Golden Vase (also known as The Golden Lotus) was published in the early seventeenth century and may be the first long work of Chinese fiction written by a single (though anonymous) author. Featuring both complex structural elements and psychological and emotional realism, the novel centers on the rich merchant Ximen Qing and his household and describes the physical surroundings and material objects of a Ming Dynasty city. In part a social, political, and moral critique, the novel reflects on hierarchical power relations of family and state and the materialism of life at the time.

The essays in this volume provide ideas for teaching the novel using a variety of approaches, from questions of genre, intertextuality, and the novel's reception to material culture, family and social dynamics, and power structures in sexual relations. Insights into the novel's representation of Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, legal culture, class, slavery, and obscenity are offered throughout the volume.

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Approaches to Teaching The Plum in the Golden Vase (The Golden Lotus)

Approaches to Teaching The Plum in the Golden Vase (The Golden Lotus)

by Andrew Schonebaum (Editor)
Approaches to Teaching The Plum in the Golden Vase (The Golden Lotus)

Approaches to Teaching The Plum in the Golden Vase (The Golden Lotus)

by Andrew Schonebaum (Editor)

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Overview

The Plum in the Golden Vase (also known as The Golden Lotus) was published in the early seventeenth century and may be the first long work of Chinese fiction written by a single (though anonymous) author. Featuring both complex structural elements and psychological and emotional realism, the novel centers on the rich merchant Ximen Qing and his household and describes the physical surroundings and material objects of a Ming Dynasty city. In part a social, political, and moral critique, the novel reflects on hierarchical power relations of family and state and the materialism of life at the time.

The essays in this volume provide ideas for teaching the novel using a variety of approaches, from questions of genre, intertextuality, and the novel's reception to material culture, family and social dynamics, and power structures in sexual relations. Insights into the novel's representation of Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, legal culture, class, slavery, and obscenity are offered throughout the volume.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781603294133
Publisher: Modern Language Association
Publication date: 07/22/2022
Series: Approaches to Teaching World Literature , #159
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 400
File size: 30 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Abbreviations for Commonly Cited Editions xiii

Note on Citation and Romanization xv

Part 1 Materials

Plum's Infamy and Influence 3

Historical Context 9

Authorship and Origins 12

Editions of Plum 14

The Golden Lotus, Translated by Clement Egerton and Lao She 19

The David Tod Roy Translation 21

Resources for Teaching 26

Structure, Pattern, and Plot 36

Early Modern Comments on Plum and Its Origins 51

Part 2 Approaches

Introduction Andrew Schonebaum 63

Reading Plum

Inferiority in The Plum in the Golden Vase Tina Lu 69

Buddhist-Inflected Patterns of Characterization in The Plum in the Golden Vase Maram Epstein 80

Borrowed Time and Infinitude: Narrative, Media, and the Body in The Plum in the Golden Vase Ling Hon Lam 92

Recalcitrant Things in The Plum in the Golden Vase Wai-yee Li 105

I Lie, Therefore I Am Lisa Zunshine 123

Historical Contexts and Affects

The Ximen Household as a Warning to a Doomed Dynasty Katherine Carlitz 134

The Case in the Vase: Legal Process, Legal Culture, and Justice in The Plum in the Golden Vase Michael Szonyi 151

Nation, Brand, Afterlives: The Plum in the Golden Vase in Early-Twentieth-Century China T. Yvon Wang 172

Divination and Retribution in The Plum in the Golden Vase Andrew Schonebaum 186

Filial Piety and The Plum in the Golden Vase Maram Epstein 205

Games in The Plum in the Golden Vase Paize Keulemans 218

Women, Gender, Marriage, and Sex

Domestic Violence in a Premodern Context in The Plum in the Golden Vase Ying Zhang 230

Wives, Concubines, Prostitutes, and Other Men's Wives: The Portrayal of Sex in The Plum in the Golden Vase Keith McMahon 253

Trafficking Women in The Plum in the Golden Vase Siyen Fei 263

Sexual Acts and the Articulation of Norms and Hierarchies in The Plum in the Golden Vase Matthew H. Sommer 285

Plum and the Literary Tradition

Popular Songs and Drama in The Plum in the Golden Vase Catherine Swatek 295

The Emergence of the Novel: From Outlaws of the Marsh to The Plum in the Golden Vase Shang Wei 310

The Plum in the Golden Vase and The Story of the Stone Mary Scott 328

Digital Approaches to The Plum in the Golden Vase Paul Vierthaler 339

Notes on Contributors 357

Works Cited 361

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