How Long to Read Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704

How Long Does it Take to Read Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704?

It takes the average reader 10 hours and 20 minutes to read Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704 by William Dolby

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

These are the appendices and end-notes to William Dolby's English translation of the famous play (ch'ang-sheng tien) written by Hung Sheng (1654-1704) The full translation of this wonderfully adept and lively Play is contained in Volume No.1 whilst a second work, Volume No.2 (this volume) contains the extensive footnotes and appendices of the author. About The Play The monumental Chinese stage drama Lasting-life Palace-hall (ch'ang-sheng tien) by Hung Sheng (Hong Sheng) (1654-1704) is one of the most famous and seminal Chinese works. Its topic is the romance between a T'ang dynasty, 8th century AD, emperor and his empress, she being vividly regarded as China's outstanding femme fatale, his love with her having led to the breakdown of the dynasty. Their tale is one of the three or four most celebrated love romance of Chinese tradition. The play would take days to perform in its entirety, but has spawned various short excerpt-dramas. It is a complex mix of complexities, lyric, powerfully descriptive, occasionally humorous and even bawdy. A major artifact of Chinese, and, indeed world, literature and entertainment. Lasting-life Palace-hall, like many earlier plays and other writings, concerned the love affair of Emperor Shining August-emperor of the T'ang and Yang Jade-bangle (Yang Yu-huan), who became his Most-prized-empress (Yang Kui-fei). It was much longer and more elaborate than any earlier drama on the same theme, and had fifty acts. Unlike Pai P'u's (AD 1226 - AD?) Rain on the parasol-tree (Wu-t'ung yu), it doesn't limit itself to Empress Yang's death and the emperor's sorrowful memories of her. From Act Twenty-six onwards, she frequently reappears as a spirit. She sees her scheming relatives carried off to Hell. The grieving emperor has a life-size image of her carved in precious wood. Meanwhile in the capital, after an unsuccessful assassination attempt by a loyalist musician, the adopted son of the rebel An Lu-shan murders Lu-shan. T'ang armies restore the empire, and the emperor returns to the capital. On his way, he reaches the spot where Empress Yang lies buried, and orders her exhumation for reburial. The grave is empty but for her perfume sachet. A woman brings one of Empress Yang's silk stockings to him, and these two mementos renew his sorrow. Back in the capital, he engages a Taoist necromancer to try and contact Empress Yang's spirit. With the collusion of sympathetic gods, and the help of the Taoist, the two lovers meet once more, the Taoist conjuring up a bridge, and the emperor journeying to the moon to re-join Empress Yang. Already deities in a previous existence, they are now restored to Heaven and reunited in their love for vast time. The play's superbly free in its imagination, and much of it is one ornate lyric poem to love. Hung Sheng took immense care in polishing it and in expunging some of the spicier love scenes to shift the emphasis to a dancing scene. Later, feeling that this weakened the love element, he revised it once more. Only after a third major revision did he settle its form and title. A music master added his expertise to Hung's enormous knowledge of music for the songs. Although the play has a happy ending in the Chinese tradition, the element of personal and political tragedy looms large in the workings of the plot. Other known translations of the original title are 'Abiding-life Palace-hall, Palace of Eternal Youth and Palace of Eternal Life with Hung Sheng being otherwise known as Hong Sheng. "

How long is Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704?

Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704 by William Dolby is 606 pages long, and a total of 155,136 words.

This makes it 205% the length of the average book. It also has 190% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704 Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 14 hours and 7 minutes to read Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704 aloud.

What Reading Level is Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704?

Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704 is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704?

Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704 by William Dolby is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

To buy Lasting-life Palace-hall, Hung Sheng 1654-1704 by William Dolby on Amazon click the button below.