I am grateful to my Ph.D advisors David Der-wei Wang and Wai yee Li, and my dissertation supervising committee member Xiaofei Tian. Their valuable advice on my dissertation helped me shape the original idea and structure of this research project.
I thank the editors and reviewers of Brill and my copyeditor Eugene McGary for offering professional suggestions and assistance in polishing my manu- script and publishing it.
I am also indebted to my family and to my colleagues in the Department of German, Russian, Asian, and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at Miami University of Ohio. Without their support this book would not have been possible.