Can I read Performing Grief : Bridal Laments in Rural China on EtoBox?

Performing Grief : Bridal Laments in Rural China by Anne E. McLaren is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Performing Grief : Bridal Laments in Rural China about?

This is the first in-depth study of Chinese bridal laments, a ritual and performative art practiced by Chinese women in premodern times that gave them a rare opportunity to voice their grievances publicly. Drawing on methodologies from numerous disciplines, including performance arts and folk literatures, the author suggests that the ability to move an audience through her lament was one of the most important symbolic and ritual skills a Chinese woman could possess before the modern era. __Performing Grief__ provides a detailed case study of the Nanhui region in the lower Yangzi delta. Bridal laments, the author argues, offer insights into how illiterate Chinese women understood the kinship and social hierarchies of their region, the marriage market that determined their destinies, and the value of their labor in the commodified economy of the delta region. The book not only assesses and draws upon a large body of sources, both Chinese and Western, but is grounded in actual field work, offering both historical and ethnographic context in a unique and sophisticated approach. Unlike previous studies, the author covers both Han and non-Han groups and thus contributes to studies of eth

Who reads Performing Grief : Bridal Laments in Rural China?

Author

Anne E. McLaren

Publisher

University of Hawai'i Press

Published

2008

Language

EN

ISBN

9780824832322

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

Science, Family & Relationships, Anthropology