Love and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Literature

Product Description

Do all cultures and historical periods have a concept corresponding to the English word emotion? This collection of essays is concerned with the closest candidate within the Chinese language, namely the term qíng. What is the meaning of this term in different periods and genres? What are the types of discourse in which it is typically found? This volume contains two essays on the notion of qíng in classical sources, two on Chan Buddhist usage, and two on fiction and drama from the Ming and Qing dynasties. An introductory essay discusses the complex historical development of the term. Together, the essays may be read as a first step towards a conceptual history of one of the key terms in traditional Chinese culture.

Review

'These essays are all solidly researched and clearly written...the volume more than measures up to Eifring's stated goal as "a first step towards a conceptual history of one of the key terms in traditional Chinese literature."'
Paul S. Ropp, Nan Nü, 2005.

About the Author

Halvor Eifring, Ph.D. (1993) in Chinese linguistics, University of Oslo, is Professor of Chinese at the University of Oslo. He has published on Chinese language and literature, as well as Norwegian slang and dialects. He is a meditation teacher in Acem School of Meditation and an editor of the Norwegian cultural magazine Dyade.