Things one never knew

[flemmings]

Finished Peony in Love. Discovered from the afterword, which I should have read in advance, that The Peony Pavilion had the same effect on young Chinese women of the 17th century as The Sorrows of Young Werther had on young German men of the 18th- convinced them of the delight of dying for love, so that they offed themselves in great numbers. The Chinese women died of 'lovesickness' which meant anorectically starving themselves to death. No wonder the Manchu emperors thought it should be banned.

Comments

[incandescens]

While making a note about The Peony Pavilion for possible future reference, I think that should probably be "anorexically" rather than "anorectically".

(I have to look up details on colonoscopic routes from time to time. Though technically that would be anorectal.)

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Long days fry brains. Yes, the 'x turns to c' rule doesn't apply here. Sorry for the mental images.

[incandescens]

No worries.

[mvrdrk.livejournal.com]

That's cool! Thanks!

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

The more things change...