Mouse vs. Cat in Chinese Literature - Tales and Commentary (Paperback)

In literatures worldwide, animal fables have been analyzed for their revealingly anthropomorphic views, but until now little attention has been given to the animal tales of China. The complex, competitive relationship between rodents (vilified as thieves of grain) and the felines with whom they are perennially at war is explored in this presentation of Chinese tales about cats and mice. Master translator Wilt Idema situates them in an overview of animal tales in world literature, in the Chinese literary tradition as a whole, and within Chinese imaginative depictions of animals. The tales demonstrate the animals' symbolism and their unusually prominent-and verbal-role in the stories. These readings depict cats and mice in conflict, in marital bonds, and in litigation-most centrally in a legal case of a mouse against a cat in the underworld court of King Yama. Many of the stories adopt the perspective of the mice as animals merely trying to survive, while also recognizing that cats are natural hunters. This entertaining volume will appeal to readers interested in Chinese literature and society, comparative literature, and posthumanist consideration of human-animal relations.

General

Imprint:	University of Washington Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	March 2019
Translators:	Wilt L. Idema
Foreword by:	Haiyan Lee
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 24mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade / Trade
Pages:	272
ISBN-13:	978-0-295-74483-4
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: texts > Collections & anthologies of various literary forms Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > General
LSN:	0-295-74483-9
Barcode:	9780295744834

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