Topsy-Turvy World: Short Plays and Farces from the Ming and Qing Dynasties

"The high literary Yuan zaju plays and Ming chuanqi plays are well-represented in English translation, but the slightly later short plays (sometimes also called zaju) of the late Ming and early Qing have been long looked down upon and ignored as pedanticcloset drama. Research of recent decades has created a quite different image: whereas chuanqi plays tended to strictly conform to genre rules, these short plays offered a space for experimentation, not only in formal aspects, but also in terms of content. Short plays were very much the genre in which Ming literati displayed their daring originality, eccentric personality, and withering criticism of contemporary social conditions, as well as their outrageous wit. A representative selection of these short plays will fill an obvious gap, and the editors see a need for such a volume in courses"--
Playwriting in many forms flourished during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Shorter theatrical genres in particular offered playwrights opportunities for experimentation with both dramatic form and social critique. Despite their originality and wit, these short plays have been overshadowed by the lengthy masterpieces of the southern drama tradition.A Topsy-Turvy World presents English translations of shorter sixteenth-to-eighteenth-century plays, spotlighting a lesser-known side of Chinese drama. Satirical and often earthy, these mostly one-act plays depict deceit, dissembling, reversed gender roles, and sudden upending of fortunes. With zest and humor, they portray henpecked husbands, supercilious and lustful monks, all-too-human sage kings, disgruntled officials, and overreaching young scholars. These plays provide a glimpse of Chinese daily life and mores even as they question or subvert the boundaries of social, moral, and political order.Each translation is preceded by a short introduction that describes the play’s author, context, formal qualities, and textual history. A Topsy-Turvy World offers a new view of a significant period in the development of the Chinese theatrical tradition and provides insight into the role of drama as cultural critique.
A Topsy-Turvy World presents English translations of shorter late Ming and early Qing plays. Satirical and often earthy, these mostly one-act plays provide a glimpse of Chinese daily life and mores even as they question or subvert the boundaries of social, moral, and political order.