Li Yu ( zh, c=李漁, p=Lǐ Yú, given name: 仙侣 Xiānlǚ;

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

: 笠翁 Lìwēng; 1611–1680 AD), also known as Li Liweng, was a Chinese playwright, novelist and publisher.

Life and writings

Born in

Rugao Rugao () is a county-level city under the administration of Nantong, Jiangsu province, China, located in the Yangtze River Delta on the northern (left) bank of the river. History In 411, the western part of then Hailing ( Taizhou) was separated ...

, in present-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

province, he lived in the late

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

and early

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

dynasties. Although he passed the first stage of the

imperial examination The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the Civil service#China, state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureau ...

, he failed to pass higher levels before the political turmoil of the new dynasty, but instead turned to writing for the market. Li was an actor, producer, and director as well as a playwright, who traveled with his own troupe. His play ''Errors caused by the Kite'' () is performed in the Chinese

Kun opera Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. It evolved from a music style local to Kunshan, part of the Wu cultural area, and later came to dominate Chinese th ...

stage. Li is the presumed author of ''

The Carnal Prayer Mat ''Rouputuan'', also known as ''Huiquanbao'' and ''Juehouchan'', and translated as ''The Carnal Prayer Mat'' or ''The Before Midnight Scholar'', is a 17th-century Chinese erotic novel published under a pseudonym but usually attributed to Li Yu. ...

'', a comedy of Chinese

erotic literature Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (concept), eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically ...

. He also wrote a book of short stories called ''Twelve Towers'' (). He addresses the topic of same-sex love in the tale "House of Gathered Refinements" (). This is a theme he revisits in the collection ''Silent Operas'' (i.e. "novels"; ) and his play '' The Fragrant Companion''. Li prefaced and published the painting manual ''

Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden ''Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden'' (, ), sometimes known as (), is a printed manual of Chinese painting compiled during the early-Qing Dynasty. Many renowned later Chinese painters, like Qi Baishi, began their drawing lessons with the manual. ...

'' in

Jinling Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. Li was also known for his informal essays, or ''xiaopin'' (), and for his

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...

and gastronomical writings.

Lin Yutang Lin Yutang (10 October 1895 – 26 March 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. One scholar commented that Lin's "particular blend of sophistication and casualness found a wide audience, and he became a ma ...

translated a number of these essays. Li's "On Having a Stomach" proposes that the mouth and the stomach "cause all the worry and trouble of mankind throughout the ages." He continues that the "plants can live without a mouth and a stomach, and the rocks and the soil have their being without any nourishment. Why, then, must we be given a mouth and a stomach and endowed with these two extra organs?" Lin also translated Li's "How to be Happy Though Rich" and "How to be Happy Though Poor", and "The Arts of Sleeping, Walking, Sitting and Standing", which illustrate his satirical approach to serious topics.Yutang Lin, ''The Importance of Understanding: Translations from the Chinese'' (Cleveland: World, 1960). Li was critical of

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

, describing dice as innocent objects transformed into devils in the hands of gamblers.

Translations

Patrick Hanan Patrick Dewes Hanan (4 January 192726 April 2014) was a New Zealand scholar of Chinese literature who was the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University. A sinologist, he specialised in pre-20th-century vernacular fic ...

et al. (1990). "Silent Operas (Wusheng Xi)". Hong Kong: Research Centre for Translation, Chinese University of Hong Kong. * Patrick Hanan (1996). ''The Carnal Prayer Mat''. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press. . * Patrick Hanan (1998). ''Tower for the Summer Heat''. New York : Columbia University Press. . * Nathan K Mao (1979).
Twelve towers : short stories
'. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. . *

Jacques Dars Jacques Dars (1941 – 28 December 2010) was a French sinologist and translator.Michel, Albin.Décès du sinologue Jacques Dars" ''Agence France Presse'' at ''Le Figaro''. 4 January 2011. Retrieved on 8 December 2013. "Polyglotte, il parlait plus d ...

(2003). ''Au gré d'humeurs oisives : Les carnets secrets de Li Yu : un art du bonheur en Chine''. Arles :

Éditions Philippe Picquier The Éditions Philippe Picquier are a French publishing house. It specializes in books coming from Far East, i.e., translated books coming from China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, India, Taiwan, and Pakistan. The house does not stick to a specific domain ...

. * ''Jou-pu-tuan : Andachtsmatten aus Fleisch; e. erot. Roman aus d. Ming-Zeit''. Frankfurt am Main : Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag. . 1986. * LI‑YU ''Jeou-P'ou-T'ouan, la chair comme tapis de prière'', translated by Pierre Klossowski; Éditions Jean-Jacques Pauvert, Paris, 1979 * Li Yu: ''À mari jaloux, femme fidèle'', by Pascale Frey 1998

References

Sources and further reading

* Chen, Duo
"Li Yu"
''

Encyclopedia of China The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, be ...

'', 1st ed. * Chun-Shu Chang and Shelley Hsueh-Lun Chang. '' Crisis and Transformation in Seventeenth-Century China: Society, Culture, and Modernity in Li Yü's World''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992. x, 452p. . * Owen, Stephen, "Li, Yu, ''Silent Operas (Wu-sheng xi)''," in Stephen Owen, ed. ''An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911''. New York:

W. W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly '' The Norton ...

, 1997
p. 915-941
(.
Archive
. * Patrick Hanan (1988). ''The Invention of Li Yu''. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press. . Comprehensive overview of Li Yu's life and works, containing many substantial excerpts from Li Yu's essays, plays, short stories and novel. * Andrea Stocken: Das Ästhetikkonzept des Li Yu (1610–1680) im Xianqing ouji im Zusammenhang von Leben und Werk. 2005 * HENRY, Eric: Chinese Amusement - The Lively Plays of Li Yü.Archon Books Hamden, CT 1980 * Воскресенский Д.Н. Ли Юй. Полуночник Вэйян или подстилка из плоти. (пер. с кит., предисл., коммент.) М., Гудьял-Пресс *Воскресенский Д.Н. Ли Юй. Двенадцать башен (повести XVII в.). (пер. с кит., предисл., коммент.) М., Гудьял-Пресс *

External links

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Identity Pag
Yi Li

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Yu 1611 births 1680 deaths Chinese erotica writers Ming dynasty novelists Qing dynasty novelists Writers from Nantong Chinese male novelists Qing dynasty dramatists and playwrights Chinese male short story writers Ming dynasty short story writers Qing dynasty short story writers Short story writers from Jiangsu People from Rugao 17th-century Chinese dramatists and playwrights 17th-century Chinese novelists 17th-century theatre managers