| Description |
1 online resource (xviii, 291 pages) : illustrations |
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text file |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-275) and index. |
| Contents |
Preface / Jocelyn Chey and Jessica Milner Davis -- 1. Youmo and the Chinese sense of humour / Jocelyn Chey -- 2. The theory of humours and traditional Chinese medicine : a preamble to chapter 3 / Jessica Milner Davis -- 3. The qi that got lost in translation : traditional Chinese medicine, humour and healing / Rey Tiquia -- 4. The classical Confucian concepts of human emotion and proper humour / Weihe Xu -- 5. Identifying Daoist humour : reading the Liezi / Shirley Chan -- 6. Shared humour : elitist joking in Shishuo xinyu (a new account of tales of the world) / Lily Xiao Hong Lee -- 7. Chinese humour as reflected in love-theme comedies of the Yuan Dynasty / Andy Shui-lung Fung and Zhan Hang-Lun -- 8. How humour humanizes a Confucian paragon : the case of Xue Baochai in Honglou meng / Weihe Xu -- 9. Contextualizing Lin Yutang's essay "On humour" : introduction and translation / Joseph C. Sample -- 10. Discovering humour in modern China : the launching of the Analects fortnightly journal and the "year of humour" (1933) / Qian Suoqiao -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. |
| Summary |
This book offers scholarly and accessible insights into how and why Chinese societies, past and present, approach humour in personal life and in the public sphere. It addresses the etymological difficulties of "humour" as a concept in Chinese language and understanding and explores connections and contrasts with Western "humour-styles." Periods discussed range from earliest times to the beginning of the twentieth century, covering many different forms of humour, verbal, visual and behavioural. The book brings together internationally respected scholars in Chinese studies with other specialists to explore humour through modes of enquiry in cultural and political history, linguistics, literature, drama and history and philosophy of science. The unifying focus of the book is humour and laughter in their multitudinous forms of expression in Chinese tradition and culture. Chapters vary in enquiry methods but are written (and fully annotated) in a common style designed to be accessible to the generalist reader as well as the specialist. The book will appeal to anyone taking an intelligent interest in China's history and culture. Readers more generally interested in humour and laughter -- not well-understood forms of human behaviour -- will also find the book casts light on significant differences in their concepts and practice between cultures. This is a well-informed and scholarly book that will satisfy both specialist and non-specialist readers. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Joking -- China.
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Joking. |
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China. |
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Chinese wit and humor -- History and criticism.
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Chinese wit and humor. |
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Chinese wit and humor.
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| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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Criticism, interpretation, etc.
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Electronic books.
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Dictionaries.
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Dictionaries.
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| Added Author |
Davis, Jessica Milner, editor.
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Chey, Jocelyn Valerie, editor.
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| Other Form: |
Print version: Humour in Chinese life and letters. Hong Kong : Hong Kong University Press ; London : Eurospan [distributor], ©2011 9789888083510 (OCoLC)755073038 |
| ISBN |
9789888053940 electronic book |
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9888053949 electronic book |
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9789888083510 |
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