(Ebook) The Peach Blossom Fan by Kong Shangren; K'ung Shang-jen; (translated by Chen Shih-Hsiang; Harold Acton; Cyril Birch) ISBN 9781590178775, 9781590178768, 1590178777, 1590178769

(Ebook) The Peach Blossom Fan by Kong Shangren; K'ung Shang-jen; (translated by Chen Shih-Hsiang; Harold Acton; Cyril Birch) ISBN 9781590178775, 9781590178768, 1590178777, 1590178769

A tale of battling armies, political intrigue, star-crossed romance, and historical cataclysm, The Peach Blossom Fan is one of the masterpieces of Chinese literature, a vast dramatic composition that combines the range and depth of a great novel with the swift intensity of film. In the mid-1640s, famine sweeps through China. The Ming dynasty, almost 300 years old, lurches to a bloody end. Peking falls to the Manchus, the emperor hangs himself, and Ming loyalists take refuge in the southern capital of Nanking. Two valiant generals seek to defend the city, but nothing can overcome the corruption, decadence, and factionalism of the court in exile. The newly installed emperor cares for nothing but theater, leaving practical matters to the insidious Ma Shih-ying. Ma’s crony Juan Ta-ch’eng is as unscrupulous an operator as he is sophisticated a poet. He diverts resources from the starving troops in order to stage a spectacular production of his latest play. History, however, has little time for make-believe, though the earnest members of the Revival Club, centered on the handsome young scholar Hou Fang-yü and his lover Fragrant Princess, struggle to discover a happy ending.Written in 1699 and based on the recollections of survivors, The Peach Blossom Fan is a grand historical play about the last days of the Ming dynasty as it fell to the invading Manchus. With compelling vividness, K’ung re-creates confrontations between loyalists and those who sell out to the newest master; nostalgic scenes of dalliance in riverside pavilions; desperate stands on battlements; and rituals of commemoration for the lost empire. Here are gallant generals and sycophantic ministers, court musicians and singing girls, and the love of a talented scholar and a beautiful courtesan.Immensely popular in its own time, The Peach Blossom Fan continues to be performed and has been adapted into films, operas, and modern theater pieces. This lively translation has been out of print for almost 4 decades.