Peng Xu is Associate Professor of the Institute of Humanities at ShanghaiTech University.

"The Courtesan’s Memory, Voice, and Late Ming Drama makes essential and transformative contributions to Chinese cultural history, theater studies, and gender studies. By establishing courtesans as active cultural agents rather than passive objects of patronage, Xu fundamentally revolutionizes our understanding of late Ming theatrical culture and provides an invaluable model for recovering marginalized voices across diverse historical contexts."

• List of IllustrationsList of TablesAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Brothels as a Creative SpaceChapter 1 The Courtesan’s Memorial Archive of Northern DramaChapter 2 Improvisation and Musical Modernity: The Courtesan’s Memory in the Transition from Xiansuo to KunquChapter 3 Musical Eroticism and the Evolution of TasteChapter 4 The Courtesan and Two Great Kunqu PlaysCodaAppendix A: New Chuanqi Plays from the Era, 1570–1600BibliographyIndex

Peng Xu is Associate Professor of the Institute of Humanities at ShanghaiTech University.

"The Courtesan’s Memory, Voice, and Late Ming Drama makes essential and transformative contributions to Chinese cultural history, theater studies, and gender studies. By establishing courtesans as active cultural agents rather than passive objects of patronage, Xu fundamentally revolutionizes our understanding of late Ming theatrical culture and provides an invaluable model for recovering marginalized voices across diverse historical contexts."

• List of IllustrationsList of TablesAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Brothels as a Creative SpaceChapter 1 The Courtesan’s Memorial Archive of Northern DramaChapter 2 Improvisation and Musical Modernity: The Courtesan’s Memory in the Transition from Xiansuo to KunquChapter 3 Musical Eroticism and the Evolution of TasteChapter 4 The Courtesan and Two Great Kunqu PlaysCodaAppendix A: New Chuanqi Plays from the Era, 1570–1600BibliographyIndex

Peng Xu is Associate Professor of the Institute of Humanities at ShanghaiTech University.

"The Courtesan’s Memory, Voice, and Late Ming Drama makes essential and transformative contributions to Chinese cultural history, theater studies, and gender studies. By establishing courtesans as active cultural agents rather than passive objects of patronage, Xu fundamentally revolutionizes our understanding of late Ming theatrical culture and provides an invaluable model for recovering marginalized voices across diverse historical contexts."

• List of IllustrationsList of TablesAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Brothels as a Creative SpaceChapter 1 The Courtesan’s Memorial Archive of Northern DramaChapter 2 Improvisation and Musical Modernity: The Courtesan’s Memory in the Transition from Xiansuo to KunquChapter 3 Musical Eroticism and the Evolution of TasteChapter 4 The Courtesan and Two Great Kunqu PlaysCodaAppendix A: New Chuanqi Plays from the Era, 1570–1600BibliographyIndex