The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection by Zhang, Yingyu
The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection by Zhang, Yingyu

The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection

This is an age of deception. Con men ply the roadways. Bogus alchemists pretend to turn one...
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
SKU: 9780231178631
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 672 left in stock
Author: Yingyu Zhang
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Subtotal: $98.15
10 customers are viewing this product
The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection by Zhang, Yingyu

The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection

$98.15
The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection by Zhang, Yingyu

The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection

$98.15
Author: Yingyu Zhang
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Description

This is an age of deception. Con men ply the roadways. Bogus alchemists pretend to turn one piece of silver into three. Devious nuns entice young women into adultery. Sorcerers use charmed talismans for mind control and murder. A pair of dubious monks extorts money from a powerful official and then spends it on whoring. A rich student tries to bribe the chief examiner, only to hand his money to an imposter. A eunuch kidnaps boys and consumes their "essence" in an attempt to regrow his penis. These are just a few of the entertaining and surprising tales to be found in this seventeenth-century work, said to be the earliest Chinese collection of swindle stories.

The Book of Swindles, compiled by an obscure writer from southern China, presents a fascinating tableau of criminal ingenuity. The flourishing economy of the late Ming period created overnight fortunes for merchants--and gave rise to a host of smooth operators, charlatans, forgers, and imposters seeking to siphon off some of the new wealth. The Book of Swindles, which was ostensibly written as a manual for self-protection in this shifting and unstable world, also offers an expert guide to the art of deception. Each story comes with commentary by the author, Zhang Yingyu, who expounds a moral lesson while also speaking as a connoisseur of the swindle. This volume, which contains annotated translations of just over half of the eighty-odd stories in Zhang's original collection, provides a wealth of detail on social life during the late Ming and offers words of warning for a world in peril.



Author: Yingyu Zhang
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 09/05/2017
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780231178631

About the Author
Zhang Yingyu (fl. 1612-1617) lived during the Wanli period (1573-1620) of the Ming dynasty.

Christopher Rea is associate professor of Asian studies at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China (2015), and the editor of several books, including Humans, Beasts, and Ghosts: Stories and Essays by Qian Zhongshu (Columbia, 2011).

Bruce Rusk is associate professor of Asian studies at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Critics and Commentators: The Book of Poems as Classic and Literature (2012).
Shipping & Return

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Review

Related Products

Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD
Example product title
$98.15 AUD
$98.15 AUD

Recently Viewed Products