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Article: Humor literature as a lens to Chinese identity.
- Article from:
- East-West Connections
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Asian Studies Development Program's Association of Regional Centers. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Lin, a scholar from China, was visiting her friends Mr. and Mrs. Lee. The telephone rang, and Mrs. Lee answered it. Mr. Lee asked who had called, and Mrs. Lee answered casually, "It was your girlfriend."
A few days later, Lin returned to visit again. Talking to Mrs. Lee about the telephone call, Lin said to her, "Don't make that kind of joke. It might have been a real girlfriend." (A true story)
Chinese humor to some may seem an oxymoron, like legal ethics, artificial intelligence or exact estimate, and literature in Chinese humor may sound like a paradox. I have asked numerous recognized scholars about the existence of Chinese humor literature, and ...