Fables for the Patriarchs: Gender Politics in Tang Discourse / Edition 272

by Jowen R. Tung

Overview

Exploring issues of gender in Tang-dynasty literature and culture, Jowen R.Tung draws on a comprehensive range of historical, literary, and social texts to unravel the complex mechanisms of one of the world's oldest patriarchal systems. The author reveals the profound damage inflicted by the masculine state ideology on its subjects by illuminating the problematics of male sexuality under the hovering phallus of the emperor, the construct of male and female psyches within the pseudo-monogamous household, the logic of the collective unconscious in the literati's writings, and a female tradition desperately trapped inside the law of the father. Tung poses urgent questions about a civilization that builds itself upon the sacrifice of human lives and arrives at a rather dark interpretation of the Tang_for many the epitome of the Chinese empire. As such, the book moves beyond the confines of gender studies to propose a heightened agenda for feminist studies, which the author argues now stand at a critical conjecture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847695133
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/07/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.84(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

Jowen R. Tung is assistant professor in the Division of Humanities, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction: The Tang Paradoxes Part 3 Imperial Discourse and Its Discontent Chapter 4 The Dragon's Ministers Chapter 5 Fate of the Imperial Daughters Chapter 6 Monument Without Inscription: The Case of Wu Zhao Chapter 7 Sacrificial Lamb: The Case of Yang Yuhuan Part 8 Internal Split of the Imperial Subjects Chapter 9 The Making and Unmaking of Confucian Wives Chapter 10 Icons of the Flesh: Displaced Jouissance of the Courtesans Chapter 11 Problematics of Male Desires Part 12 Self-Representation of the Tang Chapter 13 Logic of the Unconscious Chapter 14 The Command of Desire and Decorum Chapter 15 In Feminine Voice Chapter 16 Literati in Love: The Case of Li Shangyin Part 17 Resurrected Voices Chapter 18 The Shaping of Female Tradition Chapter 19 Against Boudoir Lament: Discourse of the Courtesans Chapter 20 Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

A completely engrossing, truly extraordinary work. There exists nothing in English on gender in Tang dynasty literature and culture that even remotely resembles this book, whether in terms of comprehensiveness, originality, or analytic depth. No one before has so confidently and persuasively applied feminist critical theory to the topic.

Beata Grant

An important and provocative book. There are many wonderful moments in the book, where example and analysis produce illumination. This is a book that will repay careful reading, a book that will be good to argue with for years to come. It tackles big questions with verve and originality.

Journal Of Oriental Studies

An important and provocative book. There are many wonderful moments in the book, where example and analysis produce illumination. This is a book that will repay careful reading, a book that will be good to argue with for years to come. It tackles big questions with verve and originality.

Journal of Oriental Studies