The Journey of Passion : Desire, Identity, and Community in Romance Genres of Imperial China / Ying Zou.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zou, Ying, author.

Series:

Asian Studies E-Books Online, Collection 2026.

Women and Gender in China Studies ; 16.

Asian Studies E-Books Online, Collection 2026

Women and Gender in China Studies ; 16

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emotions in literature.

Gender identity in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (267 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Desire, Identity, and Community in Romance Genres of Imperial China

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2026.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

How were intimate feelings shaped by social and cultural practices in imperial China, and how did they, in turn, participate in processes of identity formation, generate new modes of subjectivity and sociality, and give rise to varied styles of emotional expression? In what ways did traditional Chinese literary texts articulate alternative discourses of the self, gender, and ethics that differ from modern Western models? Addressing these questions, this book traces the evolution of caizi-jiaren romances across a broad historical span, from the Tang through the Qing dynasties. It pays particular attention to changing attitudes toward emotion in philosophical texts during this period, examining desire as it operates in dialogue with moral systems, public authority, and gendered forms of cultural expression. By situating literary representations of feeling within their intellectual and social contexts, the book reveals how concepts of the self emerged not as static entities but as evolving constructs produced through dynamic processes of self-constitution and socialization, thereby enabling the possibility of agency. In this regard, The Journey of Passion contributes to ongoing scholarship on subjectivity, gender, agency, and the history of emotions in Imperial China.

Contents:

AcknowledgmentsIi

Introduction

1 Desire, Self, and Society: a Historical Review

2A Query about Desire: Tang Chuanqi Tales

1Uncontrollable Desire: “The Story of Huo Xiaoyu”

2The Ambiguity of Desire: “The Story of Yingying”

3The Treatment for Passion: “The Story of Li Wa”

3The Moralization of Passion in Caizi - jiaren Plays of the Late Ming

1A New Melodrama: The Story of the Western Wing

2The Construction of Interiority: The Peony Pavilion

3Qing as the Source of Morality: Mistress and Maid

4Talent, Identity, and Sociality: the Early Qing Caizi - jiaren Novels

1From Passion to Talent: a New Sense of Self

2Celebration of Female Talent and the Civilizing Project

3The Poetics of Community and Male Sociality

5The Diversification of Desire in The Dream of the Red Chamber 1The Diversification of Female Desire

2Nostalgia as a Dual Strategy of Self-Fashioning and Self-Reflection

3The Community of Prospect Garden: Cultural Nostalgia and Social Criticism

6Women’s Self-Exploration in Karmic Bonds of Reincarnation 1The Tropes of Gardens and Self-Portraiture

2Interiority: the Long-Delayed Moment of Disclosure

3A Collective Fantasy Centered on Process

Conclusion: the Role of Emotion and Community – Negotiating Private and Public

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9789004693357

OCLC:

1597384617

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004693357 DOI