The oral and the written in Chinese popular literature : a case study -- Wu the pilgrim in early stories, plain tale and pictures -- The novel and the episode of Jingyang Ridge -- The novel and shared language -- The storyteller's manner and the novel -- Wu song in drama librettos -- Storytelling and performance literature -- Performance literature and formulaic usage -- An excursion from the tiger tale -- Drama and storytelling on stage -- The oral and the written in oral performance -- The interaction of oral and written traditions -- Novel -- Drama -- Performance literature -- Oral performance
Summary
"The focus of Chinese literary studies has long been on the written word even though Chinese fiction and drama have strong oral roots and have been shaped by an interplay between oral and written traditions. The culmination of decades working on this issue - and using as its lens the story about how the legendary hero Wu Song killed a tiger with his bare hands - this volume explores Chinese oral professional storytelling and its relations with literary culture in the past and present."
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 513-528) and index
