Love for a Laugh: The Comic in Romantic Chuanqi Plays of the 17th and 18th Centuries

This book highlights the crucial but previously understudied role that the comic plays in the romantic chuanqi plays. It argues that the attention to the comic can enrich our understanding of the critical depth and scope of the chuanqi genre.

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After the strikingly beautiful Peony Pavilion, how could one write about love and the ideal of emotional authenticity (qing) in the chuanqi genre?

This book presents a group of creative dramatists who confronted this challenge by giving the romantic theme of chuanqi their unique comic twists. This book demonstrates how their comic articulations bring the qing ideal down to the mundane world of family obligations, political ambitions, commercial interests, and gender frustrations.

By highlighting the crucial but understudied role that the comic plays, this book enriches our understanding of the intellectual depth and critical scope of the chuanqi genre.