Legends of the Warring States

Book excerpt: This volume of selections and commentary by the premier Western translator and interpreter of the Chan-kuo Ts'e contains all of the author's favorite pieces. It also features more complete warring states narratives, the "romances"--persuasions of four of the best-known figures, Fan Chü, Chang Yi, Su Ch'in, and Ch'un-shen Chün, augmented by biographical material from the Shi-chi. This reader highlights both the nature of Chan-kuo Ts'e, an important pre-Han collection, and its considerable pleasures. J. I. Crump is Professor Emeritus of Chinese literature, University of Michigan. He is also author of Chinese Theater in the Days of Kublai Khan, Songs from Xanadu, and Song-poems from Xanadu.