Tales from Tang Dynasty China: Selections from the Taiping Guangji

Description

Compiled during the Song dynasty (960-1279) at the behest of Emperor Taizong, the Taiping Guangji anthologized thousands of pages of unofficial histories, accounts, and minor stories from the Tang dynasty (618-907). The twenty-two tales translated in this volume, many appearing for the first time in English, reveal the dynamism and diversity of society in Tang China. A lengthy Introduction as well as introductions to each selection further illuminate the social and historical contexts within which these narratives unfold. This collection offers a wealth of information for anyone interested in medieval Chinese history, religion, or everyday life.

Alexei Ditter is Associate Professor of Chinese, Reed College. Jessey Choo is Assistant Professor of Chinese History and Religion, Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick. Sarah M. Allen is Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Williams College.

"This new collection of Tang dynasty tales translated from the Taiping Guangji is an outstanding new resource for students of China. The stories are well-chosen to represent the fascinating breadth of medieval Chinese culturetales of romance, politics, revenge, and interactions with the supernatural bring to life the richness of medieval religion and society. The translations themselves are accurate and compelling. The authors and translators provide concise, clear introductions to each story and to the volume as a whole, and the collection is carefully organized and indexed so that teachers and students can explore stories on different topics. Lively and accessible to the non-specialist reader, this volume will make a terrific addition to any course on China." Anna M. Shields, Princeton University "Hackett has published a considerable number of excellent books in various areas of premodern Chinese Studies. Slim, straightforward, and affordable, especially in paperback form, these books are usually of outstanding scholarly quality and thus perfectly suited for undergraduate teaching. In the last decade, translations from vernacular Chinese literature have formed a particularly interesting part of Hackett's repertoire. . . . [ Tales from Tang Dynasty China is a] splendid addition to this tradition . . . offer[ing] twenty-two stories from the large, imperially commissioned late tenth-century collection Taiping guangji . . . . The twenty-two stories, fascinating and diverse in subject matter and literary form, are gathered under three headings: 'This World,' 'Between Worlds: Otherworldly Encounters in the Human World,' and 'Between Worlds: Travel to Other Worlds.' Each of the uniformly faithful and often elegant translations (on average three pages long) is preceded by a brief introduction (of one to three pages) and followed by a few reading suggestions; annotations are included with the translation in most cases. This contextual placement of each storyin terms of its historical situation, religious implications, and relevance in Chinese literary history, for instance through the elucidation of literary motifsis a great strength. . . The editors and the publisher are also to be commended for the occasional addition of Chinese words and characters for personal names, important concepts, etc., throughout. . . . Tales from Tang Dynasty China: Selections from the Taiping Guangji will not only make for immensely useful teaching materials, especially for instructors who want to venture beyond the usual anthology pieces, but hopefully also reach appreciative readers beyond the classroom." Antje Richter, University of Colorado, in Journal of the American Oriental Society "I am very impressed by Tales from Tang Dynasty China . The scholarship is impeccable, the prefaces provide important context to the translated stories, and the quality of the translations is very good. Especially appreciated is the inclusion of original Chinese for proper nouns and poems. Overall, the text is accessible to the general reader, and for this reason, I plan to adopt it for my course Introduction to Chinese Literature, and will also make it a highly recommended title for my course Introduction to Chinese Civilization. In times of escalating textbook prices, the very reasonable price of this volume is noticed and appreciated. In fact, considering the price, I may just make it a required text for the Civilization course." Curtis Dean Smith, California State University, Sacramento "All in all, with excellent translations, knowledgeable and insightful introductions, as well as a user-friendly index and appendices, this anthology is beyond doubt a valuable addition to the study of Tang tales. I believe it will be enthusiastically welcomed by all students and scholars of Chinese fiction and religions and enjoyed by general readers as well." Zhenjun Zhang, St. Lawrence University, in Chinese Literature "The reader of Tales from Tang Dynasty China is struck above all by the impressive quality of the translations, which throughout maintain great attention to detail, style, and precision. The first-rate and user-friendly supplementary materials, including the introduction, appendices, bibliography, and index, further enhance the substantial pedagogical and scholarly importance of the volume. [This book] represents an invaluable contribution to the field of Chinese literary studies and a critical resource for students, instructors, and researchers of Tang literature and culture." Rebecca Doran, University of Miami, in Journal of Chinese Religions