Mouse vs. cat in Chinese literature : tales and commentary / translated and introduced by Wilt L. Idema ; foreword by Haiyan Lee
- Bib ID:
- 8039903
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- Idema, W. L. (Wilt L.), translator, writer of introduction
- Edition:
- First edition.
- Description:
-
- Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2019]
- xvii, 254 pages ; 23 cm
- ISBN:
-
- 9780295744834 (paperback ;) (alkaline paper)
- 0295744839 (paperback ;) (alkaline paper)
- 9780295744858 (hardcover ;) (alkaline paper)
- 0295744855 (hardcover ;) (alkaline paper)
- Summary:
-
"Wilt Idema presents Chinese tales about cats and mice, situating them in the Chinese literary tradition as a whole, and within Chinese imaginative depictions of animals. In the literatures of the ancient and modern Near East, South Asia, and medieval Europe, animal fables exhibited a range of anthropomorphic views, but Chinese literature is notable for its relative paucity of extended animal tales and rarity of talking animals. From ancient Egypt to China, rodents have long been vilified as thieves of grain in agrarian society, in perennial war with felines. Through varied depictions of the cat-mouse relationship, this set of tales allows to reader to consider the metaphorical roles of these animals in the Chinese literary imagination and to ponder their unusually prominent--and verbal--role in these stories. Of central focus is the legal case of the mouse against the cat in the underworld court of King Yama, a popular topic in the traditional ballad literature of late-imperial China and of present-day Chinese folk literature. Idema traces the development and variations of this theme of mice and cats in classical literature; to other stories of mice and cats in traditional vernacular literature; and to stories about the wedding of the mouse to the cat and the war between mice and cats. An epilogue traces the treatment of enmity between rodents and felines worldwide, and a foreword by Haiyan Lee explores the relevance of these tales to posthumanist consideration of human-animal relations. This entertaining volume will appeal to readers interested in Chinese literature and society, comparative literature, and animal studies in the humanities"--
- Notes:
-
- "Robert Heilman book"
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Subject:
- Other authors/contributors:
- Lee, Haiyan, writer of foreword
- Also Titled:
- Mouse versus cat in Chinese literature
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
You may copy under some circumstances, for example you may copy a portion for research or study. Order a copy through Copies Direct to the extent allowed under fair dealing. Contact us for further information about copying.
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 2019
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
Request this item
Request this item to view in the Library’s reading room.
Feedback
Similar items
- Thompson's readings and recitations [microform] : humorous, serious, dramatic / edited by H.L. Thompson
- The Resurrected Skeleton : from Zhuangzi to Lu Xun / Wilt L. Idema
- Os graus do poetico / L. Ruas
- Songs of Australian trees / by Ethel L. Newcombe
- The golem remembered, 1909-1980 : variations of a Jewish legend / by Arnold L. Goldsmith