Humour in Chinese Life and Letters

This book offers scholarly and accessible insights into how and why Chinese societies, past and present, approach humour in personal life and in the public sphere. It addresses the etymological difficulties of "humour" as a concept in Chinese language and understanding and explores connections and contrasts with Western "humour-styles". Periods discussed range from earliest times to the beginning of the twentieth century, covering many different forms of humour, verbal, visual and behavioural. T