Performing Grief : Bridal Laments in Rural China / Anne E. McLaren.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McLaren, Anne E., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Country life--China--Social life and customs.

Country life.

Oral tradition--China.

Oral tradition.

Laments--China.

Laments.

Rural families--China--Social conditions.

Rural families.

Women--China--Social conditions.

Women.

Brides--China--Social conditions.

Brides.

Arranged marriage--China.

Arranged marriage.

Marriage customs and rites--China.

Marriage customs and rites.

China--Social life and customs.

China.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (225 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, [2008]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This is the first in-depth study of Chinese bridal laments, a ritual and performative art practiced by Chinese women in premodern times that gave them a rare opportunity to voice their grievances publicly. Drawing on methodologies from numerous disciplines, including performance arts and folk literatures, the author suggests that the ability to move an audience through her lament was one of the most important symbolic and ritual skills a Chinese woman could possess before the modern era.Performing Grief provides a detailed case study of the Nanhui region in the lower Yangzi delta. Bridal laments, the author argues, offer insights into how illiterate Chinese women understood the kinship and social hierarchies of their region, the marriage market that determined their destinies, and the value of their labor in the commodified economy of the delta region. The book not only assesses and draws upon a large body of sources, both Chinese and Western, but is grounded in actual field work, offering both historical and ethnographic context in a unique and sophisticated approach. Unlike previous studies, the author covers both Han and non-Han groups and thus contributes to studies of ethnicity and cultural accommodation in China. She presents an original view about the ritual implications of bridal laments and their role in popular notions of "wedding pollution." The volume includes an annotated translation from a lament cycle.This important work on the place of laments in Chinese culture enriches our understanding of the social and performative roles of Chinese women, the gendered nature of China's ritual culture, and the continuous transmission of women's grievance genres into the revolutionary period. As a pioneering study of the ritual and performance arts of Chinese women, it will be of interest to scholars and students in the fields of anthropology, social history, gender studies, oral literature, comparative folk religion, and performance arts.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

PART I: The Bridal Laments of Nanhui

Chapter 1. Imagining Jiangnan

Chapter 2. The People of the Sands

Chapter 3. The Hollow Cotton Spool: Women's Labour in Nanhui

Chapter 4. Seizing a Slice of Heaven: The Lament Cycle of Pan Cailian

PART II: Lament Performance in China: History and Ritual

Chapter 5. Weeping and Wailing in Chinese History

Chapter 6. Shaking Heaven Laments and Ritual Power

Afterword

Appendix 1 Nanhui Lament Transcription

Appendix 2 Translation: The Bridal Laments of Pan Cailian of Shuyuan, Nanhui

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-200) and index.

This eBook is made available Open Access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://www.degruyter.com/dg/page/open-access-policy

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Aug 2019)

ISBN:

9780824869366

0824869362

9780824863920

0824863925

9781441619853

1441619852

OCLC:

436458831

Access Restriction:

Unrestricted online access