Monks, Bandits, Lovers, and Immortals

This magnificent collection of eleven early [1250--1450] Chinese plays will give readers a vivid sense of life and a clear understanding of dramatic literature during an extraordinarily eventful period in Chinese history. Not only are the eleven plays in this volume expertly translated into lively, idiomatic English; they are each provided with illuminating, scholarly introductions that are yet fully intelligible to the educated lay reader. A marvelous volume.--Victor Mair, University of Pennsylvania

"This magnificent collection of eleven early [1250-1450] Chinese plays will give readers a vivid sense of life and a clear understanding of dramatic literature during an extraordinarily eventful period in Chinese history. Not only are the eleven plays in this volume expertly translated into lively, idiomatic English; they are each provided with illuminating, scholarly introductions that are yet fully intelligible to the educated lay reader. A marvelous volume." -- Victor Mair, University of Pennsylvania, "West and Idema's Monks, Bandits, Lovers, and Immortals represents a milestone in the reception of early Chinese drama in the West. Not only do the translations of eleven plays take precision, readability, and range to new heights, but the substantial yet accessible Introduction, together with a number of useful appendices, illustrations, and tables, make it the anthology of choice for courses in Chinese literature, world literature, and theater." -- Patricia Sieber, Ohio State University, An exciting new resource for undergraduate teaching. The translated plays were clearly chosen for their literary value as well as their significance to the history of Chinese drama, and each is preceded by an introduction providing its historical context. In their lucid introduction, West and Idema describe the historical background of early drama, discussing its urban setting, the theater, the actors, and the sources to trace the transformation of Yuan drama from urban popular performance into an elite reading form by the end of the Ming dynasty.--Kimberly Besio, Colby College, in The Journal of Asian Studies

Stephen H. West is Foundation Professor of Chinese, Arizona State University. Wilt L. Idema is Professor of Chinese Literature, Harvard University.