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Yu Li (1) (1611–)

Teoksen The Carnal Prayer Mat tekijä

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Tietoja tekijästä

Though Li Yu's tz'u poetry has always been loved, the character of the man has been much maligned. As the last ruler of a short-lived dynasty known as the Southern T'ang, he has been accused of "fiddling while Rome burned." He was never temperamentally suited for imperial duties; he much preferred näytä lisää painting, poetry, calligraphy, and the passivity of Buddhist contemplation to empire building and war. But no matter what his inclinations had been, it would probably have made little difference, because the fate of his dynasty was sealed before he ever took the throne. In 975 his capital fell to the relentless army of the Sung, and he was taken as their captive to Pien-ching (modern Kaifeng, Honan). Many of Li Yu's idle days of imprisonment were spent writing poetry, and, in fact, the tragedy of his situation inspired some of his most delicate and poignant verses. In his maturity, he seems to have transcended the sort of personal grief that had informed verses on the loss of his beautiful wife and young son and to have embraced the larger futility of human endeavor. Li died on his forty-first birthday after drinking a gift of poisoned wine from the Sung emperor. (Bowker Author Biography) näytä vähemmän

Tekijän teokset

Merkitty avainsanalla

Yleistieto

Virallinen nimi
李, 漁
Muut nimet
侣, 仙
笠, 翁
Syntymäaika
1611
Kuolinaika
1680 ?
Sukupuoli
male
Maa (karttaa varten)
China
Syntymäpaikka
Rugao, Jiangsu, China
Rugao, China
Ammatit
playwright
novelist
publisher

Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

En los 300 años desde su publicación inicial, el libro de Li Yu ha sido ampliamente leído en China, donde es reconocido como un referente de la literatura erótica y actualmente disfruta de la distinción de ser un clásico prohibido en Beijing.
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
Natt90 | 5 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Dec 9, 2022 |
La alfombrilla de los goces y los rezos

La alfombrilla de los goces y los rezos (la traducción literal del chino sería : La alfombrilla de rezos para meditar sobre lo carnal) apareció en 1657 y, como la mayoría de las novelas chinas de la época, se publicó con seudónimo, aunque siempre se supo que su autor era el polémico ensayista, cuentista, novelista, poeta y dramaturgo Li Yu. Esta obra clásica del erotismo, y también una de las más célebres novelas chinas, circuló libremente desde su primera edición, durante los tres siglos siguientes, hasta la creación de la República Popular comunista en 1949.
En 1990, se publicó, por primera vez en Estados Unidos, la versión íntegra en inglés de Patrick Hanan, profesor de literatura china en Harvard University, quien trabajó a la vez sobre un manuscrito que se conserva en el Instituto de Cultura Oriental de la Universidad de Tokio, y sobre la edición impresa más completa, de la que la Harvard-Yenching Library tiene dos ejemplares. Nosotros, para nuestra edición, la primera en lengua española, hemos tomado como referencia la de Patrick Hanan.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
URBEZCALVO | 5 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Feb 24, 2018 |
I’ll say first that these six stories from Li Yu are pretty innocuous; there are a few bawdy references, but they certainly pale in comparison to ‘The Carnal Prayer Mat’. The most interesting is the title story, and it’s noteworthy because the telescope (or ‘thousand-li glass’) had been so recently imported from the West, that the author needed to take time to explain it to his readers, along with the microscope (‘minute-revealing glass’) and others before continuing on with the story. Does the guy who comes across the telescope use it to gaze out into the heavens, and make scientific discoveries? No, he uses it to spy on women bathing, and to find things out with it that no one else could know in order to appear like an immortal, thereby getting the upper hand while courting one of them. Ah, the male mind, so simple and unchanged across the centuries.

It’s a common theme in the stories – using trickery to either con people, to advance in some way in life, or to marry a beautiful girl. The book does openly acknowledge homosexuality (referred to as ‘rear courtyard relationships’) in a non-judgmental way, which I found interesting. Overall, however, there is just not enough here to recommend the book – the character development is minimal, the plots are simple, and the real glimpses into what life was like in China in 1657 are fleeting.

Quotes:
On religion:
“From this example, it is clear that where the mind is concentrated, objects of clay and wood can work miracles. The worship of gods and buddhas means worshipping our own minds; it does not mean that gods and bodhisattvas really exist.”

On the pain of parting from a lover:
“But this young man had never cared for success, only pleasure; he regarded his beautiful wife as the be-all and end-all of his existence and could not put her out of his mind. Besides, she had been incredibly solicitous in his marriage and anticipated his every desire. The endearments they exchanged on the pillow, their passion beneath the quilts – he had only to think of such things to feel his soul melt and almost expire.”

On sex:
“They realized that to attain bliss in lovemaking we cannot afford any sorrow in our hearts or tears in our eyes. The finest sex tonic in the world is composed of just two words - don’t worry - besides which all the nostrums peddled on the streets are nothing but a swindle.”
… (lisätietoja)
½
1 ääni
Merkitty asiattomaksi
gbill | 1 muu arvostelu | Jun 17, 2016 |
Li Yu states this is a morality tale, and indeed ‘what comes around goes around’ when it comes to adultery in the plot of The Carnal Prayer Mat. He emphasizes the need to focus on that message, while (wink wink nudge nudge) salaciously describing acts that would get the book banned throughout the years and in present day China. As for the erotica, it’s laugh out loud funny in some places, and in others a confirmation that men’s insecurities and silly fantasies have changed very little over time. If you’re looking for either a morality story or (I suppose more likely given its reputation) a steamy novel in isolation, you may be disappointed.

On the other hand, this is a light, reasonably fun read, and I admire Li Yu for flouting convention and being so original and daring in 1657. Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (or Fanny Hill), written 100 years later in the West, may be more delightful for the beauty of its prose and probably more, er, arousing, but The Carnal Prayer Mat is better as mocking satire of anything and everything, from puritanical Confucianism to the peccadilloes and self-importance of his characters. You sense the author is making light of them all, and in doing so, making light of us to this day, smiling at us devilishly across time and space.
… (lisätietoja)
1 ääni
Merkitty asiattomaksi
gbill | 5 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Jan 23, 2015 |

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Tilastot

Teokset
11
Jäseniä
472
Suosituimmuussija
#52,190
Arvio (tähdet)
3.2
Kirja-arvosteluja
9
ISBN:t
101
Kielet
11
Kuinka monen suosikki
1

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