{"product_id":"national-beauty-and-heavenly-fragrance","title":"Beauté nationale et parfum céleste","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat happens when stories of beauty and desire meet officials who fear their power?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNational Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance is a late Ming Chinese collection of stories and other literary pieces, linked to Wu Jingsuo as its compiler. It belongs to a lively world of popular fiction, where readers seek entertainment and instruction, and tales of love and desire draw official suspicion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe title carries an old poetic compliment, used for both the peony and a woman of striking beauty. Around it lies a literary tradition concerned with attraction, courtship and intimacy, often tied to fortune, fate and taste. The tension is clear: readers seek pleasure in stories that officials fear may weaken family order.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eInside this book\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBeauty in the title\u003c\/strong\u003e – Discover a poetic phrase that brings the peony and striking human beauty together.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDesire at the centre\u003c\/strong\u003e – Explore a literary world where attraction and intimacy meet ideas of fortune and fate.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePleasure under suspicion\u003c\/strong\u003e – Consider why officials fear erotic fiction and try to keep it from readers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA lively reading culture\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enter the world of late imperial popular fiction, where entertainment sits alongside instruction.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA compiler in shadow\u003c\/strong\u003e – Meet a collection linked to Wu Jingsuo, whose life remains little known.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers curious about Chinese social history, old popular fiction and past expressions of desire, who welcome frank adult themes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page now and enter a literary world where beauty and desire invite both pleasure and suspicion.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534654767452,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/01036_en_ebook-front_c16.jpg?v=1792175012","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/fr\/products\/beaute-nationale-et-parfum-celeste","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}