The Divine Woman: Dragon Ladies And Rain Maidens In T'Ang Literature
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: No markings
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
A landmark work of sinological scholarship, The Divine Woman: Dragon Ladies and Rain Maidens in T'ang Literature presents a richly detailed study of the supernatural feminine archetypes that pervade the poetry and prose of China's Tang dynasty. Edward H. Schafer uncovers the deep mythological and cosmological roots of figures such as dragon ladies, cloud goddesses, and rain maidens, tracing their origins from ancient Chinese religion and shamanic tradition into the refined literary culture of the Tang court. With meticulous erudition and lyrical prose, Schafer illustrates how these divine women functioned not merely as decorative imagery but as potent symbols of cosmic power, erotic longing, and the boundary between the human and spirit worlds. Drawing on an extraordinary range of primary sources, the work argues that the feminine divine was central — not peripheral — to the Tang literary imagination, shaping the work of poets such as Li He and Li Shangyin. Academic in rigor yet luminous in style, this study remains an essential text for anyone serious about classical Chinese literature, religion, or the history of gender and myth in East Asia.
Author: Edward H. Schafer
Format: Paperback
Published: 1980, North Point Press
Genre: Asian history
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: No markings
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
A landmark work of sinological scholarship, The Divine Woman: Dragon Ladies and Rain Maidens in T'ang Literature presents a richly detailed study of the supernatural feminine archetypes that pervade the poetry and prose of China's Tang dynasty. Edward H. Schafer uncovers the deep mythological and cosmological roots of figures such as dragon ladies, cloud goddesses, and rain maidens, tracing their origins from ancient Chinese religion and shamanic tradition into the refined literary culture of the Tang court. With meticulous erudition and lyrical prose, Schafer illustrates how these divine women functioned not merely as decorative imagery but as potent symbols of cosmic power, erotic longing, and the boundary between the human and spirit worlds. Drawing on an extraordinary range of primary sources, the work argues that the feminine divine was central — not peripheral — to the Tang literary imagination, shaping the work of poets such as Li He and Li Shangyin. Academic in rigor yet luminous in style, this study remains an essential text for anyone serious about classical Chinese literature, religion, or the history of gender and myth in East Asia.