{"product_id":"idle-talk-under-the-bean-aina-the-layman-9780295746111","title":"Idle Talk Under the Bean Arbor: A Seventeenth-Century Chinese Story Collection","description":"\u003cp\u003eWritten around 1660, the unique Chinese short story collection \u003ci\u003eIdle Talk under the Bean Arbor\u003c\/i\u003e (Doupeng xianhua), by the author known only as Aina the Layman, uses the seemingly innocuous setting of neighbors swapping yarns on hot summer days under a shady arbor to create a series of stories that embody deep disillusionment with traditional values. The tales, ostensibly told by different narrators, parody heroic legends and explore issues that contributed to the fall of the Ming dynasty a couple of decades before this collection was written, including self-centeredness and social violence. These stories speak to all troubled times, demanding that readers confront the pretense that may lurk behind moralistic stances.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eIdle Talk under the Bean Arbor\u003c\/i\u003e presents all twelve stories in English translation along with notes from the original commentator, as well as a helpful introduction and analysis of individual stories.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Aina the Layman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0295746114\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780295746111\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Washington Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/03\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.04lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.72d","brand":"Aina the Layman","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43946393010431,"sku":"9780295746111","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_ef3e47fa-2942-4b62-aaac-d073952338a4.jpg?v=1681512890","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/idle-talk-under-the-bean-aina-the-layman-9780295746111","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}