Before Midnight Scholar

Literature & Fiction

Yu, Li

Classics

Arrow (A Division of Random House Group)

Hanan has translated six of the twelve stories in the Sh'ier lou collection, which is the most famous individual collection of vernacular stories from premodern China. With Hanan's introduction and notes, and containing Li Yu's emphasis marks, notes, and critiques, this volume will interest students of Chinese literature and general readers alike.

Tower for the Summer Heat

United States

Columbia University Press

A Couple of Soles: A Comic Play from Seventeenth-Century China (Translations from the Asian Classics)

A Couple of Soles is a classic comedic romance by the seventeenth-century playwright Li Yu. Tan Chuyu, a poor young scholar, falls in love with the beautiful actress Liu Miaogu. He joins her family’s acting troupe, and, in plays within the play, romance ensues. After Liu’s family attempts to marry her off to a local country squire, she performs a famous scene in which a heroine drowns herself―and then jumps off the stage into a river, followed by Tan. The local river deity rescues the lovers from death by transforming them into a pair of soles. Li balances their romance with the adventures of a retired upright official involving banditry, bribery, and mistaken identity―and who nets and shelters the two fish when they regain human form. Written at a time when China was beginning to recover from the cataclysmic Ming-Qing dynastic transition, A Couple of Soles displays Li’s biting wit as well as his reflections on the concerns of his age, including the dangers of administrative service and the role of theater in society. The play combines witty wordplay and caustic satire with a strong emphasis on traditional moral values. The first major comedy from late imperial China to appear in English translation, A Couple of Soles provides an unparalleled view of the theater in seventeenth-century China. A general introduction and a detailed appendix shed further light on the play and its context.

Dramas & Plays

The Fragrant Companions: A Play About Love Between Women (Translations from the Asian Classics)

Two young gentry women meet by chance at a nunnery in Yangzhou, where they fall in love at first sight. After they exchange poetry and recognize each other's literary talents, their emotional bond deepens. They conduct a mock wedding ceremony at the nunnery and hatch a plan to spend the rest of their lives together. Their schemes are stymied by a series of obstacles, but in the end the two women find an unlikely resolution--a ménage-à-trois marriage. The Fragrant Companions is the most significant work of literature that portrays female same-sex love in the entire premodern Chinese tradition. Written in 1651 by Li Yu, one of the most inventive and irreverent literary figures of seventeenth-century China, this play is at once an unconventional romantic comedy, a barbed satire, and a sympathetic portrayal of love between women. It offers a sensitive portrait of the two women's passion for each other, depicts their intellectual pursuits and resourcefulness, and celebrates their partial triumph over social convention. At the same time, Li caustically mocks the imperial examination system and deflates the idealized image of the male scholar. The Fragrant Companions is both an indispensable source for students and scholars of gender and sexuality in premodern China and a compelling work of literature for all readers interested in China's rich theatrical traditions.

Two young gentry women meet by chance at a nunnery in Yangzhou, where they fall in love at first sight. After they exchange poetry and recognize each other’s literary talents, their emotional bond deepens. They conduct a mock wedding ceremony at the nunnery and hatch a plan to spend the rest of their lives together. Their schemes are stymied by a series of obstacles, but in the end the two women find an unlikely resolution―a ménage-à-trois marriage.\nThe Fragrant Companions is the most significant work of literature that portrays female same-sex love in the entire premodern Chinese tradition. Written in 1651 by Li Yu, one of the most inventive and irreverent literary figures of seventeenth-century China, this play is at once an unconventional romantic comedy, a barbed satire, and a sympathetic portrayal of love between women. It offers a sensitive portrait of the two women’s passion for each other, depicts their intellectual pursuits and resourcefulness, and celebrates their partial triumph over social convention. At the same time, Li caustically mocks the imperial examination system and deflates the idealized image of the male scholar.\nThe Fragrant Companions is both an indispensable source for students and scholars of gender and sexuality in premodern China and a compelling work of literature for all readers interested in China’s rich theatrical traditions.

A collection of stories, including "House of Gathered Refinements," and "The Cloud-Scraper," by the seventeenth-century Chinese playwright and essayist

A Tower for the Summer Heat

Ballantine Books

Chinese City and Regional Planning Systems

While the Chinese planning system is vitally important to the rapid development which has been taking place over the past three decades, this is the first text to provide a comprehensive examination and critical evaluation of this system. It sets the current system in historical context and explains the hierarchy of government departments responsible for planning and construction, the different types of plans produced and recent urban planning innovations which have been put into practice. Illustrated with boxed empirical case studies, it shows the problems faced by the planning system in facing the uncertainty in the market economy. In all, it provides readers with a full understanding of a complex and powerful system which is very distinct from other planning systems around the world. As such, it is essential reading for all students interested in the current development taking place in China and, in addition, to planning students with a general interest in planning systems and theory.

Reference

Routledge

**Winner of the 2016 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award* Let's Learn Mandarin Chinese Kit is a complete language learning tool specially designed to introduce young children to the basic sounds, words, characters and phrases of Mandarin Chinese in a fun and interactive way. This Chinese language kit is perfect for use in a classroom setting, for homeschooling, on vacation, or anywhere else that learning takes place. It contains:<ul>
<li> 64 Chinese flash cards</li>
<li> An audio CD with recordings of songs, games and activities</li>
<li> A wall chart showing the main words and phrases at a glance</li>
<li> A 32-page learning guide for parents and teachers</li> </ul>The flash cards present 64 basic words and phrases representing the full range of sounds in Mandarin Chinese and organized into thematic categories, including:<ul>
<li> Basic Etiquette and Daily Routines</li>
<li> Introducing Family Members</li>
<li> Identifying Objects</li>
<li> Identifying Body Parts</li>
<li> Learn the Multiplication Table</li>
<li> Tell Me What You Like or Do Not Like</li>
<li> Tell Me What You Like to Do</li>
</ul> Each word is illustrated with a picture that serves as a useful visual aid to learning and remembering the word. The words often reflect cultural objects and can be studied in any order. Learners may focus on one theme at a time or mix them up for greater variety. Simple example sentences are given for each word to show how they are used. The audio CD gives native-speaker pronunciations for all the words and sentences and also contains songs, games and other activities which promote interactive language learning. Finally, the kit includes a wall chart featuring all the pictures and words, and a booklet explaining how to use the flashcards, audio CD and wall chart and how to play the games and activities.

Let's Learn Mandarin Chinese Kit: 64 Basic Mandarin Chinese Words and Their Uses (Flash Cards, Audio, Games & Songs, Learning Guide and Wall Chart)

Children's Books

Education & Reference

Tuttle+publishing

In the 300 years since its initial publication, Li Yu's book has been widely read in China, where it is recognized as a benchmark of erotic literature and currently enjoys the distinction of being a banned-in-Beijing classic.

The Carnal Prayer Mat

Humor & Satire

University of Hawaii Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Yu, Li. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Yu, Li

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Yu, Li. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Before Midnight Scholar

Tower for the Summer Heat

A Couple of Soles: A Comic Play from Seventeenth-Century China (Translations from the Asian Classics)

A Couple of Soles: A Comic Play from Seventeenth-Century China (Translations from the Asian Classics)

The Fragrant Companions: A Play About Love Between Women (Translations from the Asian Classics)

The Fragrant Companions: A Play About Love Between Women (Translations from the Asian Classics)

A Tower for the Summer Heat

Chinese City and Regional Planning Systems

Let's Learn Mandarin Chinese Kit: 64 Basic Mandarin Chinese Words and Their Uses (Flash Cards, Audio, Games & Songs, Learning Guide and Wall Chart)

The Carnal Prayer Mat