CRITIQUE
Whereas at the beginning of the book he was grateful to the Sage, now, at its close, he berates him. That worthy cannot be feeling either too pleased or too vexed about it. This truly is a book that mocks everything! Let me come to the Sage's defense with yet another quotation from the Four Books: "Those who understand me will do so through The Carnal Prayer Mat; those who condemn me will also do so because of The Carnal Prayer Mat." [96]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Li Yu was a renowned essayist, novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and critic. The Carnal Prayer Mat was first published in 1657.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Educated in New Zealand and England, Patrick Hanan is a professor of Chinese literature at Harvard University. Among his books is a study of the author of The Carnal Prayer Mat entitled The Invention of Li Yu (Harvard University Press, 1988). Mr. Hanan is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received numerous awards for his research and translation projects.
[96] The quotation is adapted from Mencius, where Confucius is described as defending his composition of The Spring and Autumn Annals. See D. C. Lau, trans., Mencius, p. 114: "Those who understand me will do so through the Spring and Autumn Annals; those who condemn me will also do so because of the Spring and Autumn Annals."