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The Journey of Passion
Desire, Identity, and Community in Romance Genres of Imperial China
Series: - Women and Gender in China Studies, Volume: 16
Author:
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.
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.
Ying Zou, PhD (2010), Stanford University, is Associate Professor of Chinese Classical Literature at Renmin University of China. She has published monographs, translations, and numerous articles on Chinese literature and gender studies, including âTalent, Identity, and Sociality in Early Qing Scholar-Beauty Novelsâ (Tâoung Pao, Sept. 2016) and The Study of Ming-Qing Fiction in the United States (Nanjing daxue chubanshe, 2016).
AcknowledgmentsIi
Introduction
1 Desire, Self, and Society: a Historical Review
â2âA Query about Desire: Tang Chuanqi Tales
â1âUncontrollable Desire: âThe Story of Huo Xiaoyuâ
â2âThe Ambiguity of Desire: âThe Story of Yingyingâ
â3âThe Treatment for Passion: âThe Story of Li Waâ
â3âThe Moralization of Passion in Caizi-jiaren Plays of the Late Ming
â1âA New Melodrama: The Story of the Western Wing
â2âThe Construction of Interiority: The Peony Pavilion
â3âQing as the Source of Morality: Mistress and Maid
â4âTalent, Identity, and Sociality: the Early Qing Caizi-jiaren Novels
â1âFrom Passion to Talent: a New Sense of Self
â2âCelebration of Female Talent and the Civilizing Project
â3âThe Poetics of Community and Male Sociality
â5âThe Diversification of Desire in The Dream of the Red Chamber â1âThe Diversification of Female Desire
â2âNostalgia as a Dual Strategy of Self-Fashioning and Self-Reflection
â3âThe Community of Prospect Garden: Cultural Nostalgia and Social Criticism
â6âWomenâs Self-Exploration in Karmic Bonds of Reincarnation â1âThe Tropes of Gardens and Self-Portraiture
â2âInteriority: the Long-Delayed Moment of Disclosure
â3âA Collective Fantasy Centered on Process
Conclusion: the Role of Emotion and Community â Negotiating Private and Public
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
1 Desire, Self, and Society: a Historical Review
â2âA Query about Desire: Tang Chuanqi Tales
â1âUncontrollable Desire: âThe Story of Huo Xiaoyuâ
â2âThe Ambiguity of Desire: âThe Story of Yingyingâ
â3âThe Treatment for Passion: âThe Story of Li Waâ
â3âThe Moralization of Passion in Caizi-jiaren Plays of the Late Ming
â1âA New Melodrama: The Story of the Western Wing
â2âThe Construction of Interiority: The Peony Pavilion
â3âQing as the Source of Morality: Mistress and Maid
â4âTalent, Identity, and Sociality: the Early Qing Caizi-jiaren Novels
â1âFrom Passion to Talent: a New Sense of Self
â2âCelebration of Female Talent and the Civilizing Project
â3âThe Poetics of Community and Male Sociality
â5âThe Diversification of Desire in The Dream of the Red Chamber â1âThe Diversification of Female Desire
â2âNostalgia as a Dual Strategy of Self-Fashioning and Self-Reflection
â3âThe Community of Prospect Garden: Cultural Nostalgia and Social Criticism
â6âWomenâs Self-Exploration in Karmic Bonds of Reincarnation â1âThe Tropes of Gardens and Self-Portraiture
â2âInteriority: the Long-Delayed Moment of Disclosure
â3âA Collective Fantasy Centered on Process
Conclusion: the Role of Emotion and Community â Negotiating Private and Public
Bibliography
Index
This book will appeal to scholars and students of Chinese literature, philosophy, intellectual history, and the history of emotions, as well as to readers working in theories of subjectivity and gender.