000 03124naaaa2200277uu 4500
001 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/28977
005 20220219190119.0
020 _a9780824887667
041 0 _aEnglish
042 _adc
072 7 _aJHMC
_2bicssc
100 1 _aMcLaren, Anne E.
_4auth
245 1 0 _aPerforming Grief : Bridal Laments in Rural China
260 _bUniversity of Hawai'i Press
_c2020
506 0 _aOpen Access
_2star
_fUnrestricted online access
520 _aThis is the first in-depth study of Chinese bridal laments, a ritual and performative art practiced by Chinese women in premodern times that gave them a rare opportunity to voice their grievances publicly. Drawing on methodologies from numerous disciplines, including performance arts and folk literatures, the author suggests that the ability to move an audience through her lament was one of the most important symbolic and ritual skills a Chinese woman could possess before the modern era. Performing Grief provides a detailed case study of the Nanhui region in the lower Yangzi delta. Bridal laments, the author argues, offer insights into how illiterate Chinese women understood the kinship and social hierarchies of their region, the marriage market that determined their destinies, and the value of their labor in the commodified economy of the delta region. The book not only assesses and draws upon a large body of sources, both Chinese and Western, but is grounded in actual field work, offering both historical and ethnographic context in a unique and sophisticated approach. Unlike previous studies, the author covers both Han and non-Han groups and thus contributes to studies of ethnicity and cultural accommodation in China. She presents an original view about the ritual implications of bridal laments and their role in popular notions of "wedding pollution." The volume includes an annotated translation from a lament cycle. This important work on the place of laments in Chinese culture enriches our understanding of the social and performative roles of Chinese women, the gendered nature of China’s ritual culture, and the continuous transmission of women’s grievance genres into the revolutionary period. As a pioneering study of the ritual and performance arts of Chinese women, it will be of interest to scholars and students in the fields of anthropology, social history, gender studies, oral literature, comparative folk religion, and performance arts.
536 _aKnowledge Unlatched
540 _aCreative Commons
_fhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
_2cc
_4https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
546 _aEnglish
650 7 _aSocial & cultural anthropology, ethnography
_2bicssc
653 _aSocial Science
653 _aAnthropology
653 _aCultural & Social
856 4 0 _awww.oapen.org
_uhttps://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/43921/1/external_content.pdf
_70
_zDOAB: download the publication
856 4 0 _awww.oapen.org
_uhttps://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/28977
_70
_zDOAB: description of the publication
999 _c37143
_d37143