This is the most comprehensive study of pien-wen ("transformation texts," i.e., tales of metamorphosis) in any language since the manuscripts were discovered at the beginning of this century in a remote cave complex in northwest China. They are the earliest written vernacular narratives in China and are thus extremely important in the history of Chinese language and literature. Numerous scholarly controversies have surrounded the study of the texts in the last three-quarters of a century; this volume seeks to resolve some ...
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This is the most comprehensive study of pien-wen ("transformation texts," i.e., tales of metamorphosis) in any language since the manuscripts were discovered at the beginning of this century in a remote cave complex in northwest China. They are the earliest written vernacular narratives in China and are thus extremely important in the history of Chinese language and literature. Numerous scholarly controversies have surrounded the study of the texts in the last three-quarters of a century; this volume seeks to resolve some of them -- the extent, origins, and formal characteristics of the texts, the meaning of pien-wen , the identity of the authors who composed these popular narratives and the describes who copied them, the relationship of the texts to oral performance, and the reasons for the apparently sudden demise of the genre around the beginning of the Sung dynasty. Mair's is a multi-disciplinary study that integrates findings from religious, literary, linguistic, sociological, and historical materials, carried out with philological rigor. It includes an extensive bibliography of relevant sources in many languages.
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Add this copy of T'Ang Transformation Texts: a Study of the Buddhist to cart. $24.98, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Press.
Add this copy of T'Ang Transformation Texts: a Study of the Buddhist to cart. $35.00, very good condition, Sold by BookHouse On-Line rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Minneapolis, MN, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Harvard University Asia Center.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Missing jacket. Size: 6x1x9; Harvard University Press, 1989; same date on title and copyright pages, no additional printings indicated; xxi, 286pp. Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series no. 28. VG hardcover, missing the dust jacket. Binding is sturdy and fully intact; very minor wear to edges of black cloth boards, silver foil titling remains bright and bold; text very good throughout. No dust jacket. Ships same or next business day from Dinkytown in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
