More Swindles from the Late Ming: Sex, Scams, and Sorcery
By Zhang Yingyu
Translated by Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea
Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231212458
The second instalment of a translation of an early seventeenth-century Chinese source on scams and cons offers a fascinating window into pre-modern crime. This section of The Book of Swindles features 40 stories, showing just how many ways an unsuspecting person could be tricked, cheated, or talked out of their money.
Excerpt:
Dear reader, are you fond of tales of neighbors betrayed, spouses prostituted, travelers murdered, honest merchants fleeced, promising students corrupted, women of good family debauched, and widows drugged? Do you savor stories about scoundrels who pervert the justice system, break religious vows, hoodwink the faithful, adulterate precious metals, encourage gambling and alcoholism, blind and amputate children, use sorcery to foment insurrection, or rob a fellow with his pants down? If so, this second volume, More Swindles from the Late Ming: Sex, Scams, and Sorcery, is for you.
Who is this book for?
There are very few primary sources that deal with cons and scams in the pre-modern world – the only other one that comes to mind is The Book of Charlatans– so those interested in the history of crime, and social history more broadly will find this an engaging read. Even those studying medieval China or Chinese literature will find it a useful translation.
“With the appropriate interventions, it would make for an excellent teaching resource where students can engage with the dilemmas of a fraying social fabric through the lens of one commentator’s attempts to preserve the values at the core of Chinese society in flux.” ~ review by Joshua Tan in Asian Review of Books
“While the stories themselves—each only a few pages long—are explicit enough in their lessons, Zhang’s inscriptions transform the book from a collection of parables into a kind of guidebook for navigating the tumult of the times. The advice isn’t revolutionary—don’t trust flattery, question easy money—yet its plainness is the point. The world is complicated enough; can’t literature be a simple but effective crutch?” ~ review by Mahika Dhar in the Los Angeles Review of Books
The Translators
Bruce Rusk is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia. His research and teaching focus on China’s cultural history, particularly the Ming through mid-Qing period.
Christopher G. Rea is a professor, also at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on Chinese literature and cultural history, especially the modern Chinese-speaking world.
More Swindles from the Late Ming: Sex, Scams, and Sorcery
By Zhang Yingyu
Translated by Bruce Rusk and Christopher Rea
Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231212458
The second instalment of a translation of an early seventeenth-century Chinese source on scams and cons offers a fascinating window into pre-modern crime. This section of The Book of Swindles features 40 stories, showing just how many ways an unsuspecting person could be tricked, cheated, or talked out of their money.
Excerpt:
Dear reader, are you fond of tales of neighbors betrayed, spouses prostituted, travelers murdered, honest merchants fleeced, promising students corrupted, women of good family debauched, and widows drugged? Do you savor stories about scoundrels who pervert the justice system, break religious vows, hoodwink the faithful, adulterate precious metals, encourage gambling and alcoholism, blind and amputate children, use sorcery to foment insurrection, or rob a fellow with his pants down? If so, this second volume, More Swindles from the Late Ming: Sex, Scams, and Sorcery, is for you.
Who is this book for?
There are very few primary sources that deal with cons and scams in the pre-modern world – the only other one that comes to mind is The Book of Charlatans – so those interested in the history of crime, and social history more broadly will find this an engaging read. Even those studying medieval China or Chinese literature will find it a useful translation.
This volume follows The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection, which translated only part of the text; together, the two books complete the translation. In other words, you will need both volumes for the full work.
“With the appropriate interventions, it would make for an excellent teaching resource where students can engage with the dilemmas of a fraying social fabric through the lens of one commentator’s attempts to preserve the values at the core of Chinese society in flux.” ~ review by Joshua Tan in Asian Review of Books
“While the stories themselves—each only a few pages long—are explicit enough in their lessons, Zhang’s inscriptions transform the book from a collection of parables into a kind of guidebook for navigating the tumult of the times. The advice isn’t revolutionary—don’t trust flattery, question easy money—yet its plainness is the point. The world is complicated enough; can’t literature be a simple but effective crutch?” ~ review by Mahika Dhar in the Los Angeles Review of Books
The Translators
Bruce Rusk is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia. His research and teaching focus on China’s cultural history, particularly the Ming through mid-Qing period.
Christopher G. Rea is a professor, also at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on Chinese literature and cultural history, especially the modern Chinese-speaking world.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
You can buy this book on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
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