Author: Martin W. Huang
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Keywords: chinese, fiction, rewritings, continuations, legs, sequels, snakes
Number of Pages: 306
Published: 2004-11
List price: $51.00
ISBN-10: 0824828127
ISBN-13: 9780824828127

Snakes’ Legs examines sequels (xushu), a common but long-neglected literary phenomenon in traditional China. What prompted writers to produce sequels despite their poor reputation as a genre? What motivated readers to read them? How should we characterize the nature of the relationship between sequels and rewritings? Contributors to this volume illuminate these and other questions, and the collection as a whole offers a comprehensive consideration of this vigorous genre while suggesting fascinating new directions for research. Xushu as a discursive practice reinforces the paradox that