The age of irreverence : a new history of laughter in China / Christopher Rea.
Rea, Christopher G., author.
2015
PL2403 .R43 2015eb
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Title The age of irreverence : a new history of laughter in China / Christopher Rea.
Author Rea, Christopher G., author.
ISBN 9780520283848
0520283848
9780520959590 (electronic book)
Published Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2015]
Copyright ©2015
Language English
Description 1 online resource (352 pages) : illustrations
Call Number PL2403 .R43 2015eb
Dewey Decimal Classification 895.17/4809
Summary "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." During the first years of the Republic, novelists, essayists and illustrators used humorous allegories to make veiled critiques of the new government. But political and cultural discussion repeatedly erupted into invective, as critics 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 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 era--from the 1890s up 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 offers an unprecedented and up-close look at a neglected facet of Chinese cultural modernity, and discusses its legacy in the language and styles of Chinese humor today.--Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references.
Access Note Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description Description based on print version record.
Available in Other Form Age of irreverence : a new history of laughter in China.
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Breaking into laughter
Jokes
Play
Mockery
Farce
The invention of humor.

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