{"product_id":"tang-transformation-texts-victor-h-mair-9780674868151","title":"T'Ang Transformation Texts: A Study of the Buddhist Contribution to the Rise of Vernacular Fiction and Drama in China","description":"This is the most comprehensive study of \u003ci\u003epien-wen\u003c\/i\u003e (\"transformation texts,\" i.e., tales of metamorphosis) in any language since the manuscripts were discovered at the beginning of this century in a remote cave complex in northwest China. They are the earliest written vernacular narratives in China and are thus extremely important in the history of Chinese language and literature. Numerous scholarly controversies have surrounded the study of the texts in the last three-quarters of a century; this volume seeks to resolve some of them -- the extent, origins, and formal characteristics of the texts, the meaning of \u003ci\u003epien-wen\u003c\/i\u003e, the identity of the authors who composed these popular narratives and the describes who copied them, the relationship of the texts to oral performance, and the reasons for the apparently sudden demise of the genre around the beginning of the Sung dynasty. Mair's is a multi-disciplinary study that integrates findings from religious, literary, linguistic, sociological, and historical materials, carried out with philological rigor. It includes an extensive bibliography of relevant sources in many languages.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Victor H. Mair\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674868153\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674868151\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/1989\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 450\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.29lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.27h x 6.33w x 1.17d","brand":"Victor H. Mair","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44054603890943,"sku":"9780674868151","price":45.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_36cddd66-e566-4528-93d7-2686a0e44178.jpg?v=1685030910","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/tang-transformation-texts-victor-h-mair-9780674868151","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}