Daily Life for the Common People of China, 1850 to 1950: Understanding Chaoben Culture (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9789004361027)

In this exciting book, Ronald Suleski introduces daily life for the common people of China in the century from 1850 to 1950. They were semi-literate, yet they have left us written accounts of their hopes, fears, and values. They have left us the hand-written manuscripts (chaoben 抄本) now flooding the antiques markets in China. These documents represent a new and heretofore overlooked category of historical sources.
Suleski gives a detailed explanation of the interaction of chaoben with the lives of the people. He offers examples of why they were so important to the poor laboring masses: people wanted horoscopes predicting their future, information about the ghosts causing them headaches, a few written words to help them trade in the rural markets, and many more examples are given. The book contains a special appendix giving the first complete translation into English of a chaoben describing the ghosts and goblins that bedeviled the poor working classes.


Author: Ronald Suleski
ISBN-10: 9004361022
ISBN-13: 9789004361027
Publisher: Brill
Language: English
Published: 10/11/2018
Pages: 464
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.85lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.30d