The Master in the Clouds: Imagining Li Yu in Early Modern Japan

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jll.2022.213

Abstract

The Chinese novelist and playwright Li Yu 李漁 (1610~1680) enjoyed great fame in Japan since the 1690s when he was introduced to Japanese readers of the Tokugawa period. Particularly important in the reception history of Li Yu in Japan was Jieziyuan huazhuan, the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting. The reproduction and reinterpretation of Jieziyuan huazhuan in Tokugawa Japan shaped Li Yu’s reputation as a literatus ideal among his Japanese readers in spite of his obscure reputation among his Chinese contemporaries. Through a wide range of primary materials, this article examines the idolization of Li Yu in the middle and late Tokugawa period and argues that it was a result of the misrepresentation of Li Yu as a literati painting master, as well as a hermit fiction writer. The close connection established between him and Jieziyuan huazhuan led to the recognition of him in Tokugawa Japan as one of the greatest literati painting artists. Meanwhile, the imagination of him as a hermit further established his image as the ideal of literati spirit among his Japanese admirers. Such idolization in turn contributed to his reputation in early modern China when his works were re-introduced to Chinese readers in the 1930s.

 

Author Biography

Jingyi Li, University of Arizona

PhD Candidate in Japanese History,

East Asian Studies Department,

References

-

Downloads

Published

2022-03-18

Issue

Vol. 56 No. 1 (2022): Japanese Language and Literature

Section

ARTICLES

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licenseor its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  4. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  6. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  7. The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  8. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
  9. The Author agrees to digitally sign the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work.