Tun-huang Popular Narratives presents authoritative translations of four vernacular Chinese stories, taken from fragmentary texts usually referred to as pien-wen or 'transformation texts'. Dating from the late T'ang (618–907) and Five Dynasties (907–959) periods, the texts were discovered early last century in a cave at Tun-huang, in Chinese Central Asia. However, written down in an early colloquial language by semi-literate individuals and posing formidable philological problems, the texts have not been studied critically before. Nevertheless they represent the only surviving primary evidence of a widespread and flourishing world of popular entertainment during these centuries. The tales deal with both religious (mostly Buddhist) and secular themes, and make exciting and vivid reading.
Contents
List of illustrations; Preface; Introduction; 1. Śāriputra; 2. Maudgalyāyana; 3. Wu Tzu-hsü; 4. Chang I-ch'ao; Usages and symbols; Notes on the texts; References; Index.
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