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Memory making in folk epics of China : the intimate and the local in Chinese regional culture / Anne E. McLaren.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- McLaren, Anne E. (Anne Elizabeth), author.
- Series:
- Cambria sinophone world series
- Cambria Sinophone world series
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Folklore--China.
- Folklore.
- Folk songs--China.
- Folk songs.
- Epic literature, Chinese--History and criticism.
- Epic literature, Chinese.
- Fertility--China--Folklore.
- Fertility.
- Rice--China--Folklore.
- Rice.
- Oral tradition--China.
- Oral tradition.
- Rice--Folklore.
- China.
- Genre:
- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
- Physical Description:
- xxxviii, 304 pages ; 24 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Amherst, New York : Cambria Press, [2022]
- Summary:
- "This is the first book-length study in the West on the folk epics of the Han Chinese people, who are the majority population of China. These folk epics provide an unparalleled resource for understanding the importance of "the local" in Chinese culture, especially how rice-growing populations perceived their environment and relational world. The folk epics were sung by illiterate farmers while working in the rice paddy or boating along the waterways. It was believed that singing promoted crop fertility and that the rice-plant embodied a female rice spirit whose growth and development paralleled that of human sexuality and procreation. Regarded as "vulgar" due to its erotic content, this song tradition was marginalized and little understood. The erotic content is often removed in editions directed at a national readership. Employing perspectives from memory studies, eco-criticism, and the study of oral traditions, this book examines in detail five iconic folk epics. The author draws on interviews with contemporary song transmitters and ethnologists from the Lake Tai region, as well as a collection of singer transcripts and unedited song material"-- Provided by publisher.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Other Format:
- Online version: McLaren, Anne E. (Anne Elizabeth) Memory making in folk epics of China
- ISBN:
- 9781621966456
- 1621966453
- OCLC:
- 1331412833
- Publisher Number:
- 99992953783
- 40031490912
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