Li Yu is known for the diversity and innovative quality of his writings; those works of his which remain to us fall under the categories of informal essays (xiaopin 小品), gastronomical writings, the...Show moreLi Yu is known for the diversity and innovative quality of his writings; those works of his which remain to us fall under the categories of informal essays (xiaopin 小品), gastronomical writings, the preface to the Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden (Jieziyuan huazhuan 芥子園畫傳), the erotic novel The Carnal Prayer Mat (Rouputuan肉蒲團), published under a pseudonym and of disputed authorship though which the general consensus accredits to Li Yu, as well as a number of operas, poems, and several collections of short stories. The focus of my paper will be placed on a selection of short stories from Li Yu's collections The Twelve Towers (Shi'er lou 十二樓) and Operas Without Sound (Wusheng xi 無聲戲), series one and two. I have chosen to focus on short stories, firstly in order to have a wide range of material available for analysis and secondly, as these collections of short stories were written for the public eye they are therefore the medium most likely to contain an intended message. Within these works I will seek to analyze certain aspects of the comedic rhetorical devices used by Li Yu and investigate the effect which these create, maintaining a specific focus on identifying said devices as a means of undermining social norms. I have chosen the term 'undermine' as opposed to 'criticize' as there is an important difference between provoking an audience to think differently, as Li Yu does, as opposed to seeking to reform social systems for which there is no evidence that Li Yu sought to do so.Show less
Lianxiang ban is one of the rare female love theme plays in mid-seventeenth century China, written by Li Yu, a popular writer, whose opinion of female love may reflect a group of literati of his...Show moreLianxiang ban is one of the rare female love theme plays in mid-seventeenth century China, written by Li Yu, a popular writer, whose opinion of female love may reflect a group of literati of his time. This Thesis discovers Li Yu's notion of female love in his play Lianxiang ban by analyzing Li Yu's life, close-reading Lianxiang ban's script, discussing the fascination with 'qing' in Late Ming Literature and male-male eroticism in Ming-Qing era. It becomes clear that Li Yu admires and respects the pure love between two heroines in Lianxiang ban and believes that their love is not inferior to male-female love. This finding challenges some scholar's argument that Li Yu's writing on female love is for the benefit of heterosexual sex and marriage.Show less
Deze bachelorscriptie onderzoekt de manier waarop vrouwen in moderne, door vrouwen gemaakte Chinese speelfilms worden weergegeven. Aan de hand van begrippen uit gender- en filmstudies worden vier...Show moreDeze bachelorscriptie onderzoekt de manier waarop vrouwen in moderne, door vrouwen gemaakte Chinese speelfilms worden weergegeven. Aan de hand van begrippen uit gender- en filmstudies worden vier zeer verschillende films van Ning Ying en Li Yu geanalyseerd.Show less
Li Yu’s seventeenth century “The Carnal Prayer Mat” or Rou Putuan () belongs the genre of the erotic novel. Much like contemporary erotic works like the sixteenth century “Jin Ping Mei” and...Show moreLi Yu’s seventeenth century “The Carnal Prayer Mat” or Rou Putuan () belongs the genre of the erotic novel. Much like contemporary erotic works like the sixteenth century “Jin Ping Mei” and seventeenth century “The Embroidered Couch”, the theme of the erotic novel revolves around a libertine who fully indulges himself in sexual pleasures and is, through the intricacies of karmic retribution (which in the Chinese narrative is known as baoying), eventually punished for it. I will try to determine the influence of baoying on narrative structure and behavior adjustment of characters within Rou Putuan. On a structural level I will, drawing on works of van Dijk and Margolin, examine how to recognize occurrences of the unexpected disruption of coherence within the event structure of the narrative, intuitively called ‘coincidence’. Through the analysis of three key events, I will attempt to determine whether or not this occurrence of ‘coincidence’ can be made rational by supplying a retribution structure coordinating the story. The final purpose of this thesis is to determine how Li Yu’s evokes the retributive device of baoying on the narrative of Rou Putuan. My argument refutes the idea that the author uses retribution to convene any moral message, but that it’s merely the result of Li Yu’s interesting relationship with convention. I will lay bare this relationship by supplying a small biography and emphasizing the interrelation between his own aesthetic ideas and his intended audience.Show less
