Set in seventeenth-century China, this story follows Peony, a sheltered girl from a wealthy family who becomes obsessed with the opera The Peony Pavilion. After a brief encounter with a young man she believes is her betrothed, she stops eating and dies from lovesickness. The narrative then shifts into the afterlife as Peony becomes a hungry ghost. She observes the Manchu conquest of the Ming Dynasty and the lives of her family from the spiritual realm, eventually attempting to influence the physical world to ensure her writing survives and her legacy is preserved.
Historical fiction readers who value detailed depictions of Chinese funerary rites, ancestor worship, and the "three-inch golden lilies" of footbinding will find this work useful. It provides a look at the historical cult of Qing Dynasty women poets and the cultural impact of traditional theatrical performances. Readers walk away with a specific understanding of how spiritual rituals and social codes governed the lives and deaths of women during this era, along with the theological distinctions between different types of Chinese spirits.
Inward-looking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2007
- Language
- EN
