A historical taxonomy of talking birds in Chinese literature / Wilt L. Idema.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Idema, W. L. (Wilt L.), author.

Series:

Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series ; 144.

Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series ; 144

Language:

Chinese

English

Subjects (All):

Chinese literature--History and criticism.

Chinese literature.

Parrots in literature.

Birds in literature.

Talking birds--China--Religious aspects.

Talking birds.

Chinese literature--Translations into English.

Buddhist literature, Chinese--Translations into English.

Buddhist literature, Chinese.

Chinese literature--Themes, motives.

Physical Description:

x, 297 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massacusetts : Harvard University Asia Center, [2025]

Language Note:

English; some words and phrases in Chinese.

Summary:

"Parrots and mynahs have played a unique role in Chinese literature for two millennia. These birds that can talk and interact intelligently with their owners were treasured as pets both in the palace and in private homes. The caged birds were pitied for their homesickness but praised for their eagerness to serve. Over time they developed into exemplars of Confucian values such as filial piety and loyalty, and they also featured prominently in tales of love and war. Closely associated with Buddhism from early on, the parrot proved itself an effective preacher of the Dharma and became the favorite bird of the bodhisattva Guanyin. In this wide-ranging thematic study Wilt L. Idema traces the development of the parrot and the mynah as characters in many forms of poetry and prose of Chinese elite literature, as well as in the long narrative ballads of traditional popular literature. The book provides complete renditions of Mi Heng's (173-198) Rhapsody on the Parrot, the anonymous Tale of the Parrot's Filial Piety of the fifteenth century, and the anonymous Precious Scroll of the Parrot of late-imperial times. An epilogue discusses the disappearance of the parrot in modern Chinese literature."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Captured Birds and Frustrated Talent: From Earliest Times to the Early Third Century

Selected texts

Mi Heng, "Rhapsody on the Parrot"

Cao Zhi, "Rhapsody on the Parrot"

Exotic Cockatoos and Foreign Tales: Third to Sixth Centuries

Buddhist Parrot Tales

"The Grateful Parrot"

The Parrot That Escaped by Fasting"

"The Parrot That Feigned Death"

"The Parrot King and the Buddha"

"The Two Parrots and the Monkey"

"The Parrot Chosen as King"

"The Filial Parrot"

"The Preaching Parrot"

At the Palace and in the Boudoir; at the Bordello and in Religion: Seventh to Tenth Centuries

Wang Wei, "Rhapsody on the White Parrot

Anonymous, "Dayao's Crested Mynah"

Niu Sengru, "Liu Guishun"

Abiding Loyalty and Filial Piety: Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries

Selected text

Anonymous, The Tale of the Parrot's Filial Piety

Parrots as Desire, as Allegory, and as Prop: Sixteenth to Nineteenth Centuries

Anonymous, The Precious Scroll of the Parrot

Treasure and Go-Between, Entertainer and Statesman: Late Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Century

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674298675

0674298675

OCLC:

1452729492