The Tale of Li Wa, Study and Critical Edition of a Chinese Story from the Ninth Century

London: Ithaca Press, 1983. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/Good Plus. First edition, first printing. Hardback in dustwrapper. 24 × 16cm, 204pp. This is the first full critical edition of a wotk from the classic T'ang ch'uan-ch'i corpus. It brings textual, historical, literary and exegetical study to bear on the famous Li Wa chuan, aiming both to illuminate the story itself, and to stimulate a more intensive way of reading T'ang fiction. A long introduction documents the story's textual transmission, details a new approach to the problem of its date and circumstances of composition, explores the symmetrical pattern and topical significance of its main themes, and follows its evolution in later periods and other literary forms. The text is freshly edited in two parallel versions from manuscript and printed sources. A new translation is supported by a detailed commentary, paying particular attention to the story's scriptural and literary resonances. It offers for the first time a reading of Li Wa Chuan in which the depth of the literary past has a full part to play. Condition: The book itself is in very good condition. The dustwrapper is good plus with a little fading to the spine and a few light water splashes to the spine.