The Age of Irreverence

The Age of Irreverence
Author :
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Total Pages : 352
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780520959590
ISBN-13 : 0520959590
Rating : 4/5 (590 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Age of Irreverence by : Christopher Rea

Download or read book The Age of Irreverence written by Christopher Rea and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-09-08 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Age of Irreverence tells the story of why China’s entry into the modern age was not just traumatic, but uproarious. As the Qing dynasty slumped toward extinction, prominent writers compiled jokes into collections they called "histories of laughter." In the first years of the Republic, novelists, essayists and illustrators alike used humorous allegories to make veiled critiques of the new government. But, again and again, political and cultural discussion erupted into invective, as critics gleefully jeered and derided rivals in public. Farceurs drew followings in the popular press, promoting a culture of practical joking and buffoonery. Eventually, these various expressions of hilarity proved so offensive to high-brow writers that they launched a concerted campaign to transform the tone of public discourse, hoping to displace the old forms of mirth with a new one they called youmo (humor). Christopher Rea argues that this period—from the 1890s to the 1930s—transformed how Chinese people thought and talked about what is funny. Focusing on five cultural expressions of laughter—jokes, play, mockery, farce, and humor—he reveals the textures of comedy that were a part of everyday life during modern China’s first "age of irreverence." This new history of laughter not only offers an unprecedented and up-close look at a neglected facet of Chinese cultural modernity, but also reveals its lasting legacy in the Chinese language of the comic today and its implications for our understanding of humor as a part of human culture.


The Age of Irreverence Related Books

The Age of Irreverence
Language: en
Pages: 352
Authors: Christopher Rea
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-09-08 - Publisher: Univ of California Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Age of Irreverence tells the story of why China’s entry into the modern age was not just traumatic, but uproarious. As the Qing dynasty slumped toward ext
Irreverence
Language: en
Pages: 85
Authors: Gianfranco Cecchin
Categories: Psychology
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-04-17 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Irreverence: A Strategy for Therapists' Survival marks the end result of a collaboration between three creative and highly respected therapists and writers in t
Pious Irreverence
Language: en
Pages: 304
Authors: Dov Weiss
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017 - Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Judaism is often described as a religion that tolerates, even celebrates arguments with God. In Pious Irreverence, Dov Weiss has written the first scholarly stu
Infernal
Language: en
Pages: 366
Authors: Bianca Scardoni
Categories: Amulets
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-07-31 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Hell is empty. The Devil is here. There is no road so long and winding as the one that leads you to the finish line. Every bend is meant to test you, every junc
Borges and Translation
Language: en
Pages: 276
Authors: Sergio Gabriel Waisman
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2005 - Publisher: Bucknell University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book studies how Borges constructs a theory of translation that plays a fundamental role in the development of Argentine literature, and which, in turn, ex