The Columbia Anthology of Yuan Drama

By Wai-Yee Li and George Kao

This anthology features translations of ten seminal plays written during the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), a period considered the golden age of Chinese theater. By turns lyrical and earthy, sentimental and ironic, Yuan drama spans a broad emotional, linguistic, and stylistic range. Combining sung arias with declaimed verses and doggerels, dialogues and mime, and jokes and acrobatic feats, Yuan drama formed a vital part of China's culture of performance and entertainment in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

To date, few Yuan-dynasty plays have been translated into English. Well-known translators and scholars have supervised the making of this collection and add a short description to each play. A general introduction situates all selections within their cultural and historical contexts.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231122667
• ISBN13: 9780231122665
• Release Date: April 2014
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.9" x 10.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher