Spirit Writing and Performance in the Work of You Tong （1618-1704）

By Judith T. Zeitlin; Translated by LI Liangzi

doi:10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20258203

Volume 8 Issue 2

Aug. 2025

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By Judith T. Zeitlin, Translated by LI Liangzi. Spirit Writing and Performance in the Work of You Tong （1618-1704）[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2025, 8(2): 53-77. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20258203

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By Judith T. Zeitlin, Translated by LI Liangzi. Spirit Writing and Performance in the Work of You Tong （1618-1704）[J]. International Comparative Literature, 2025, 8(2): 53-77. doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20258203

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Spirit Writing and Performance in the Work of You Tong （1618-1704）

doi: 10.19857/j.cnki.ICL.20258203

1 The University of Chicago;
2 Shanghai Educational Publishing House

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Author Bio:
Judith T. Zeitlin is professor at the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations （EALC）， University of Chicago. Her research fields are literature in Ming and Qing dynasties， drama and visual culture；LI Liangzi is editor at Shanghai Educational Publishing House， PhD in Ancient Chinese Literature from Fudan University. Her research field is Chinese opera during Ming and Qing dynasties.
Received Date: 2024-11-22
Accepted Date: 2025-04-24

Abstract

Abstract

One of the most striking aspects of spirit writing in late imperial circles was its integration into literary culture. Spirit writing makes the past part of a continuous present， the infinite repeatability of authorship becoming proof of immortality. The absence of the medium in the literary record correspondingly enhances the impression of the spirit’s independent presence， much as the absence of the playwright and director from the stage contributes to the illusion that the characters in a play are real. You Tong documented his fondness for spirit writing in a variety of forms. You Tong’s engagement with planchette falls mainly into two distinct periods of his life. The first phase during 1642-1644， the second phase in the 1670s. Although after a hiatus of some thirty years， the second phase in some ways uncannily replicates the pattern of the first phase： the death of You Tong’s closest friend or wife intrigued him to write a torrent of mourning poems and seek to learn their fates in the other world. Writing， particularly unpublished writing， resembles the human body all too closely and is no bulwark against death. One of the reasons for men’s interest in women’s poetry in this period is that women’s poetry， usually devalued and unpublished， represented writing most at risk of being lost， and consequently， most in need of pity， protection， and preservation. The fragility and vulnerability projected onto women’s writings reveals the common tendency to conflate female body and text in this period， but it also betrays the anxiety that the male subject’s own writing will not last， his own self disappear without a trace. You Tong’s yearning to transcend the restraints of the spirit writing relationship， to see the form and hear the voice of an entirely literary creation—an ideal woman constituted only through words—resembles nothing so much as the desire of an author to witness one of his own characters come to life. There is one real way to satisfy this fantasy， of course： to script a play and then watch it performed. Celestial Court Music （钧天乐） is autobiographical not so much because it tells the story of You Tong’s life， but because it portrays major themes and experiences in his life anchored to a dense web of personal referents. We may speak once again of an absence of performance in that no seance is dramatized in the play， despite the importance of spirit writing in his emotional life. But You Tong’s fascination with female planchette immortals as the ideal woman and his anxieties about the posthumous fate of writing are tightly woven into the fabric of the play.
- spirit writing,
- performance,
- You Tong,
- drama composition

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References(51)

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