Hardback
January 31, 2021
9780295748375
English
296
1 map
9.00 Inches (US)
6.00 Inches (US)
1.2 Pounds (US)
$105.00 USD, £79.00 GBP
v2.1 Reference
Paperback / softback
January 31, 2021
9780295748382
English
296
1 map
9.00 Inches (US)
6.00 Inches (US)
.85 Pounds (US)
$32.00 USD, £23.99 GBP
v2.1 Reference

The Objectionable Li Zhi

Fiction, Criticism, and Dissent in Late Ming China

Iconoclastic scholar Li Zhi (1527–1602) was a central figure in the cultural world of the late Ming dynasty. His provocative and controversial words and actions shaped print culture, literary practice, attitudes toward gender, and perspectives on Buddhism and the afterlife. Although banned, his writings were never fully suppressed, because they tapped into issues of vital significance to generations of readers. His incisive remarks, along with the emotional intensity and rhetorical power with which he delivered them, made him an icon of his cultural moment and an emblem of early modern Chinese intellectual dissent.

In this volume, leading China scholars demonstrate the interrelatedness of seemingly discrete aspects of Li Zhi's thought and emphasize his far-reaching impact on his contemporaries and successors. In doing so, they challenge the myth that there was no tradition of dissidence in premodern China.

The open access publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation.

About the Authors

Rivi Handler-Spitz is associate professor of Chinese language and literature at Macalester College. Pauline C. Lee is associate professor of Chinese religions and cultures at Saint Louis University. Haun Saussy is professor of comparative literature, social thought, and East Asian languages and civilizations at the University of Chicago. Handler-Spitz, Lee, and Saussy are coeditors and cotranslators of A Book to Burn and a Book to Keep [Hidden]: Selected Writings of Li Zhi. Contributors include Timothy Brook, Kai-wing Chow, Maram Epstein, Robert E. Hegel, Martin Huang, Wai-yee Li, Miaw-fen Lu, Ying Zhang, and Jiang Wu.

Reviews

"[A] book that answers questions many have asked themselves and raises new ones on the complexity of Li Zhi's (1527-1602) personality and thought. This is the first volume in English that collects various studies done under different perspectives on this controversial Ming thinker."—Ming Qing Studies

"[A] fascinating, multidisciplinary study of Li Zhi, a controversial, complex figure... a remarkable work"—Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews

"[O]ffers a worthy companion to the editors' earlier volume of selected translations of Li Zhi's writings."—Journal of Chinese Studies

"[A] mature contribution both to Li Zhi and late-Ming scholarship. Features of his life and writings are examined by knowledgeable Ming scholars who are able skillfully to shed light on him from the perspective of a body of scholarship for which each is known."—Journal of Chinese History

"The diverse and multifaceted scholarship presented in this volume not only mirrors Li Zhi's intellectual versatility, it also documents the wide margin that the discrepancies and inconsistencies in his thinking and writing leave for interpretation. Even though Li Zhi seemed "objectionable" to many of his contemporaries and some of those that came after him, this book convincingly demonstrates the value and perpetual significance of his thought. To all students of Li Zhi's life and thought and of late Ming intellectual history in general I do recommend this volume unreservedly."—Monumenta Serica

Endorsements

"Very timely and important."—David Rolston, University of Michigan

"Presents both a richly nuanced portrait of an extremely interesting man and an in-depth discussion of a fascinating time, using different disciplinary methods and sources. The scope of the work is in fact broader than this one man—we learn a lot about the Ming world."—Ann Waltner, University of Minnesota

University of Washington Press

 

9780295748375 : the-objectionable-li-zhi-handler-spitz-lee-saussy
Hardback
296 Pages
$105.00 USD
9780295748382 : the-objectionable-li-zhi-handler-spitz-lee-saussy
Paperback / softback
296 Pages
$32.00 USD

Other Titles by Rivi Handler-Spitz

Symptoms of an Unruly Age

Rivi Handler-Spitz
Sep 2019 - University of Washington Press
$105.00 USD - Hardback
$32.00 USD - Paperback / softback

Other Titles by Haun Saussy

Stèles

Victor Segalen, translated by Timothy Billings, Christopher Bush
Jun 2007 - Wesleyan University Press
$39.95 USD - Paperback / softback

Comparative Literature in an Age of Globalization

edited by Haun Saussy
May 2006 - Johns Hopkins University Press
$33.00 USD - Paperback / softback

Other Titles in LITERARY CRITICISM / Asian / Chinese

Approaches to Teaching The Plum in the Golden Vase (The Golden Lotus)

edited by Andrew Schonebaum
Jul 2022 - Modern Language Association of America
$80.00 USD - Hardback
$34.00 USD - Paperback / softback

The Edge of Knowing

Roy Bing Chan
Aug 2020 - University of Washington Press
$32.00 USD - Paperback / softback
$50.00 USD - Hardback

Heroines of the Qing

Binbin Yang
Mar 2019 - University of Washington Press
$32.00 USD - Paperback / softback
$50.00 USD - Hardback