Skip to main content
Out of the Margins

Out of the Margins

By Ge, Liangyan

Published by University of Hawaii Press

English 306 pages 2001 ISBN 9780824863821
Estimated reading time: 5 h 37 min
PDF

About this book

The novel Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan), China's earliest full-length narrative in vernacular prose, first appeared in print in the sixteenth century. The tale of one hundred and eight bandit heroes evolved from a long oral tradition; in its novelized form, it played a pivotal role in the rise of Chinese vernacular fiction, which flourished during the late Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) periods. Liangyan Ge's multidimensional study considers the evolution of Water Margin and the rise of vernacular fiction against the background of the vernacularization of premodern Chinese literature as a whole. This gradual and arduous process, as the book convincingly shows, was driven by sustained contact and interaction between written culture and popular orality. Ge examines the stylistic and linguistic features of the novel against those of other works of early Chinese vernacular literature (stories, in particular), revealing an accretion of features typical of different historical periods and a prolonged and cumulative process of textualization. In addition to providing a meticulous philological study, his work offers a new reading of the novel that interprets some of its salient characteristics in terms of the interplay between audience, storytellers, and men of letters associated with popular orality.

Availability

Out of the Margins is available as PDF at 13 online bookshops. Bookshops carrying it include Association of University Presses - Tienda FILUNI, Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam.

Genres

Language
English
Share

Frequently asked questions

In what formats is Out of the Margins available?
Out of the Margins is available as PDF at 13 online bookshops.
Where can I buy Out of the Margins?
You can buy Out of the Margins at Association of University Presses - Tienda FILUNI, Bajalibros Argentina, Bajalibros Latam. Compare every option in the list on this page.
How long does it take to read Out of the Margins?
At an average reading pace, Out of the Margins takes about 5 h 37 min to read (306 pages).

Ratings & reviews

No ratings yet. Be the first to review this book.

Sign in to rate and review this book.

Comments

Sign in to join the conversation.

No comments yet.