1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910826830103321

Autore

Zamperini Paola

Titolo

Lost bodies [[electronic resource] ] : prostitution and masculinity in Chinese fiction / / by Paola Zamperini

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Leiden ; ; Boston, : Brill, 2010

ISBN

1-282-95122-X

9786612951220

90-474-4408-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (250 p.)

Collana

Women and gender in China studies, , 1877-5772 ; ; v. 3

Disciplina

306.740951

Soggetti

Prostitution - China - History

Prostitutes - China - History

Prostitutes in literature - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Paradise lost : the fantastic childhood of a courtesan to be -- Lost and found : the socialization of the prostituted body -- Family matters : patterns of solidarity and discord in the brothel -- Nobody's son : prostitution and the disintegration of the family romance -- Taking flight poverty, sickness, and death -- Epilogue : back to the future : nostalgia and prostitution.

Sommario/riassunto

This important contribution to the study of early modern Chinese fiction and representation of gender relations focuses on literary representations of the prostitute produced in the Ming and Qing periods. Following her heavily symbolic body, the present work maps this fictional heroine's journey from innocence to sex-work and beyond. This crucial angle allows the author to paint a picture of gender identity, sexuality, and desire that is at once unitary and multi-layered, and that comes to illuminate some of the major themes in the construction of Chinese modernity.