{"product_id":"persons-roles-and-minds-1","title":"Persons, Roles, and Minds","description":"\u003cp\u003eFocusing on two late-Ming or early-Qing plays central to the Chinese canon, this thought-provoking study explores crucial questions concerning personal identity. How is a person, as opposed to a ghost or animal, to be defined? How can any specific person (as distinguished, for example, from an impostor or twin) be identified? Both plays are \u003ci\u003echuanqi\u003c\/i\u003e, representatives of a monumental genre that represents Chinese dramatic literature at its most complex: Tang Xianzu's \u003ci\u003ePeony Pavilion\u003c\/i\u003e is a romantic comedy in 55 acts, and Kong Shangren's \u003ci\u003ePeach Blossom Fan\u003c\/i\u003e narrates the fall of the Ming Dynasty in 40 acts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo reader of Chinese literature would find a sexual encounter between a young man and a female ghost surprising. In \u003ci\u003ePeony Pavilion\u003c\/i\u003e, however, the lovers actually marry and join human society—a possibility that invites speculation on the nature of personhood and agency. By contrast, \u003ci\u003ePeach Blossom Fan\u003c\/i\u003e addresses the question of identity in an explicitly political fashion. After the fall of Beijing, many men put forward imperial claims. Who, in a time of turmoil, is truly the Emperor? In a Confucian society, where hierarchy and identity are so interdependent, how does the lack of certainty about the Emperor's identity affect all human identities?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe question of personal identity is intrinsically bound up with questions of agency, legal responsibility, and participation within a polity. Confucian patriarchy, in particular, implies an anxiety of identity: in order to serve one's father appropriately, one must first know who he is. Drawing on related contemporary sources, the author combines a range of perspectives, including literary criticism, philosophy, jurisprudence, and art history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Tina Lu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53615903605116,"sku":"9780804742023","price":32.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0251\/4980\/0541\/files\/9780804742023_87220f9f-4978-4114-90d5-4d7a2fc00bd3.jpg?v=1727351392","url":"https:\/\/combined-academic.myshopify.com\/products\/persons-roles-and-minds-1","provider":"Combined Academic Publishers - Mare Nostrum Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}