Mostpeoplesupposethatthewholeworldknowswhatitistolove;thatromanticloveisuniversal,quintessentiallyhuman.Suchasuppositionhastobeabletomeetthreechallenges.Ithastojustifyitsunderlyingassumptionthatallculturesmeanthesamethingbytheword‘love’regardlessoflanguage.IthastoengagewiththescholarlydebateonwhetherornotromanticlovewasinventedinEuropeandisuniquelyWestern.Anditmustbeabletoexplainwhyearlytwentieth-centuryChinesewritersclaimedthattheyhadneverknowntruelove,orlovebymodernWesternstandards.Byaddressingthesethreechallengesthroughaliterary,historical,philosophical,biographicalandaboveallcomparativeapproach,thishighlyoriginalworkshowshowlove’sprofileinChinashiftedwiththerejectionofarrangedmarriagesandconcubinageinfavouroffreeindividualchoice,monogamyandaWesternmodelofromanticlove.
名人推薦：
‘Thisbook,LynnPan’sbesttodate,addsawonderfulnewanglebyencouragingus,viacomparison,tobetterappreciatehowunusual,eveninsomewaysexotic,apartoftheWesternpastwetakeforgranted,asthoughitwerenatural,actuallyis.WhilethereaderwilllearnagreatdealaboutChineseliteraryandculturaltraditionsfromthisbook,ifreadwithanopenmindtheWesternreadermayenduprethinkingthingsabouthisorhertraditionjustasdeeply.’
—JeffreyN.Wasserstrom,Chancellor’sProfessorofHistory,UniversityofCaliforniaatIrvine
‘NobodywritesaboutChinaquiteasbrilliantlyasLynnPan,whointhisnew,illuminatingworkonloveshowcaseshertrademarkeruditionentwinedwithanovelist’ssensibility.Pan’srareskillmakesthebookatreatfromstarttofinish;asumptuous,deftandmovinganalysisofChina’srelationshipwithlove.’
—MishiSaran,authorofChasingtheMonk’sShadow:AJourneyintheFootstepsofXuanzangandTheOtherSideofLight
