208 pp. May 1994
paper, ISBN 978-0-8248-1606-3, $16.99
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Keywords: |
literature
China
Asia
history
textbook |
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The Three-Inch Golden Lotus: A Novel on Foot Binding
by Feng Jicai
trans. by David Wakefield
Fiction from Modern China
Winner of the Eugene M. Kayden International Translation Award, 1992–93
“Presented with self-conscious, postmodern sophistication, and raises questions of universal relevance: about the sexual allure of the unnatural... and about the extremes that fashion—mental as well as physical—can take us to.” —Wendy Larson, University of Oregon “An excellent, truly engaging novel of high literary merit. Feng tells his story brilliantly, with a great deal of playful ironic distance, choosing foot binding as the means of investigating China’s past as a comment on the present.” —The New Yorker “The translation by David Wakefield is noteworthy. While he follows Feng’s text very closely, ... he strikes the necessary balance between readability and precision. As such, The Three-Inch Golden Lotus will be understood and enjoyed by a broad spectrum of educated readers.” —China Review International, Fall 1994
From the opening remarks:
“Some people say that a portion of Chinese history lies concealed in the bound feet of Chinese women. That’s preposterous! These stunted human feet, three inches long, a bit longer than a cigarette, eternally suffocated in bindings—what could be hidden there except for the smell?”
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