Heroines of Jiangyong is the first English translation of a set of verse narratives recorded in the unique women’s script (nushu) of rural Jiangyong County, Hunan, in southern China. This selection of Chinese folk literature provides a rare window into the everyday life of rural daughters, wives, and mothers, as they transmit valuable lessons about surviving in a patriarchal society that is often harsh and unforgiving. Featuring strong female protagonists, the ballads deal with moral issues, dangers women face outside the family home, and the difficulties of childbirth.
The women’s script, which represents units of sound in the local Chinese dialect, was discovered by scholars in the late twentieth century, creating a stir in China and abroad. This volume offers a full translation of all the longer ballads in women’s script, providing an exceptional opportunity to observe which specific narratives appealed to rural women in traditional China. The translations are preceded by a brief introduction to women’s script and its scholarship, and a discussion of each of the twelve selections.
Table of Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Women’s Script
Part One | Moral Tracts
1. Admonitions for My Daughter
2. The Ten Months of Pregnancy
3. The Family Heirloom
4. The Lazy Wife
Part Two | Narrative Ballads
5. The Tale of Third Sister
6. The Daughter of the Xiao Family
7. Lady Luo
8. The Maiden Meng Jiang
9. The Flower Seller
10. The Demonic Carp
11. The Karmic Affinity of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai
12. Fifth Daughter Wang
Notes
Chinese Character Glossary
Bibliography
About the author
Wilt L. Idema is professor emeritus of Chinese literature at Harvard University. He is the author of Chinese Vernacular Fiction: The Formative Period (Brill, 1974); coauthor of The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China (Harvard East Asia Center, 2004); and translator of Two Centuries of Manchu Women Poets: An Anthology (University of Washington Press, 2017) and other works of traditional Chinese literature.
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