A01=John Minford
anthology
Author_John Minford
Category=DNT
Category=FXD
Category=NHF
chinese literature
classics
eq_anthologies-novellas-short-stories
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_fiction
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
erotic
eroticism
mysticism
philosophy
poetry
romance
storytelling
taoism
tradition
translation
Product details
- ISBN 9781836391944
- Dimensions: 138 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 01 Jul 2026
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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This landmark anthology brings together, for the first time in English, the rich tradition of Chinese writing on love – sensuous, romantic and ecstatic – from early classics like the Book of Songs to twentieth-century modernist verse. Challenging the stereotype of Chinese literature as stiffly Confucian, it celebrates instead the Taoist embrace of physical passion as cosmic harmony. The selections span lyrical hymns, bawdy tales, singsong-house ballads, philosophical musings and a bedside manual, revealing a long, diverse literary culture of erotic and emotional expression. High-quality translations preserve both elegance and clarity, while exquisite seventeenth-century erotic woodblock prints provide visual echoes of the texts’ spirit. This anthology offers a rare and revelatory window on to the pleasures, desires and poetic sophistication of Chinese love literature through the ages.
John Minford is a sinologist and translator, and Emeritus Professor of Chinese Studies at the Australian National University. He has translated many classics of Chinese literature, including The Story of the Stone, the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching and The Art of War.
