Academic literature on the topic 'Ghosts stories, Chinese'
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Journal articles on the topic "Ghosts stories, Chinese"
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Ye, Hanwen. "An Analysis of the Female Ghost Images in Ancient Chinese Novels on the Theme of Romantic Relationship Between Man and Ghost." Communications in Humanities Research 28, no. 1 (April 19, 2024): 1–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/28/20230005.
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From Jin to Qing Dynasty of China, there are a large number of novels depicting human-ghost romance. In this literature, female images, femininity and gender relationship patterns reflect the patriarchal values of a specific historical period. Previous research on ancient Chinese female ghost novels often focused on their romantic story with a male human and the awakening consciousness of female, but the research on Character depiction of female ghost was very few. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between the image shaping of female ghosts and the values of contemporary Chinese ancient patriarchal society, existing in the stories of the ancient Chinese romances novels of Song, Yuan and Ming dynasty. Studies have suggested that the female ghosts in ancient Chinese "human-ghost romance" novels are essentially projections of the male author's ideals, reflecting the phallocentrism of ancient Chinese ghost fiction.
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Luan, Nguyen Van, and Dinh Tran Ngoc Huy. "Witches Character in Chinese Classic Novels in Medieval Vietnam Legends." International Journal of Language, Literature and Culture 3, no. 2 (2023): 01–05. http://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijllc.3.2.1.
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Witches (female ghosts) are characters that appear frequently in medieval Vietnamese legends. Its origins are in folk tales. In fairy tales, female ghost characters often have beautiful, intelligent, and active characteristics in love stories. In relations with earthly people, witches sometimes cause harm, sometimes they are a helping force. Legendary writers created this type of character to reflect the world of human consciousness such as: crime, lust, dreams of free love, resistance to power.
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Delaplace, Gregory. "Chinese Ghosts in Mongolia." Inner Asia 12, no. 1 (2010): 127–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/146481710792710282.
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AbstractThis paper explores a rumour that has been circulating lately in Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar. People report encounters with Chinese ghosts, who appear in the form of long-bearded old men dressed in silken clothes. These curious apparitions are recognised by the population as the souls of Chinese merchants, who remained attached to the place where they buried the wealth they accumulated during their life. At a time when Chinese economic expansion raises concerns among the Mongolian population, these ghosts of the colonial era sound like a warning against present-day Chinese migrants. Introducing several of these stories, this paper shows that Chinese people are imagined as essentially parasitic beings, who not only come to Mongolia to trade but stick to the place, even beyond their own death, to suck out its vital resources.
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Dinu, Cristina. "The Narrative Motif of the Ghost in Classical Chinese Literature." International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture 9, no. 1 (March 31, 2022): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.19044/llc.v9no1a1.
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The first part of this paper presents a brief history of the ghost narrative motif in classical Chinese literature, arguing that this motif first appears in Chinese culture during the Shang Dynasty (16 c. - 1066 BC), and it is a recurring concept defined in the Book of Liezi and it is also present in the Daoist principle yin - yang. Despite the Confucian tradition of rejecting the belief in ghosts and any other metaphysical elements, ever since the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) the literary motif of the ghost appears in the so-called fantastic stories chuanqi which will later influence the strange stories zhiguai written by Pu Songling (1640 - 1715), and will serve as inspiration for Guan Hanqing (1225 - 1302) when he writes the famous zaju play Snow in Midsummer. This paper is an aesthetic, hermeneutic and anthropological analysis of the concept of the wandering ghost or spirit in classical Chinese literature, starting from the evolution of the character gui 鬼 which means ghost in Chinese. I will observe the narrative role of the ghost in classical Chinese literature, using as representative examples literary works such as the chuanqi play The Peony Pavillion written by Tang Xianzu (1550 –1616), the strange story zhiguai, “Gongsun Jiuniang” by Pu Songling, and the zaju play, Snow in Midsummer, written by Guan Hanqing.
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Chongjie, Chen, Yoan Yoan, and Kelly Kelly. "Analysis of Society Conditions/Reality During Chinese Feudal Era in the Novel Liaozhai Zhiyi." Lingua Cultura 4, no. 2 (November 30, 2010): 173. http://dx.doi.org/10.21512/lc.v4i2.365.
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Liaozhai Zhiyi is a compilation of short stories created by the Qing Dynasty novelist, Pu Songling. The main concept is not centered on regular ghost stories, but the author told a story on real life and the fantasy world by describing realities of society life in the feudal era. The author, through stories in Liaozhai Zhiyi, analyses social reality in their education, politics, love, economic and moral aspects. The author of Liaozhai Zhiyi uses of a lot of stories concerning fox spirits, ghosts, and other types of spirits in portraying his critics and anger towards incidents happening in feudal China. Analysis shows that Liaozhai Zhiyi broadly depicts social reality happening in feudal era in education, politics, love, economic and moral aspects. Liaozhai Zhiyi also criticizes the corrupt government official examination scheme, and the crime and decadence of the feudal government. In contrast, the stories also praised the freedom of young men and women seeking love in marriage, endorsing young men and women to reject arranged marriages, showing women in the economic independence and social advancement, and summed up the lessons of social life.
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Chu, Patricia. "“The Invisible World the Emigrants Built”: Cultural Self-Inscription and the Antiromantic Plots of The Woman Warrior." Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies 2, no. 1 (March 1992): 95–115. http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/diaspora.2.1.95.
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Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts both depicts and creates for its readers such an experience of strangeness that many non-Chinese-American readers view it as “exotic” and Chinese, some Chinese Americans dismiss it as a misrepresentation of Chinese-American experience, and most Chinese view it as American. As Kingston herself has noted, many of the book's early reviewers praised the book, yet inappropriately tried to draw general conclusions from it about Chinese Americans, or even Chinese (Kingston, “Cultural Mis-readings”). Chinese readers are likely to share the initial responses of Zhang Ya-jie, a scholar from the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) who felt that Kingston’s treatment of certain stories, especially the woman warrior story, was “somewhat twisted, Chinese perhaps in origin but not really Chinese any more, full of American imagination,” and was put off by the book’s expressions of bitterness toward Kingston’s mother and its generalizations about Chinese people (103). Perhaps in response, much Asian-American discussion has focused on the book's ethnic authenticity, rather than its poetic rendering of Kingston’s experience, as a quick survey of four Asian-American critical approaches may suggest.
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Li, Wei. "From the Imagination to the Reality: Historical Aspects of Rewriting Six Dynasties Buddhist Avadāna Stories." Religions 14, no. 4 (April 18, 2023): 545. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14040545.
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In at least two aspects, Buddhist Avadāna literature shares a strong affinity with Chinese literature. One type of stories can be seen as parallel tales that bear striking resemblances to Chinese tales, while the other type has been assimilated by Chinese writers and transformed into Chinese tales. Regarding the first kind, there are many parallels between Buddhist and Chinese stories throughout the Six Dynasties (222–589), and it was only later that these stories were somehow compiled into collections that brought these parallels to light. As an example of the second type, in linggui zhi 靈鬼志 (The Record of Magical Ghosts) of the Jin Dynasty (265–402), the story of waiguo daoren 外國道人 (“the Foreign Master”) adapts the magical plot in which a man throws up a jug from the story of fanzhi tuhu 梵志吐壺 (“a Brahmin Spits a jug”) in the Buddhist text, yet it changes certain objects of the story to items with Chinese characteristics and develops new meaning. In Xu qixiezhi 續齊諧志 (Further Records of Qixie [Supernatural tales]), the famous e’long shusheng 鵝籠書生 (“the Goose Cage Scholar”, also known as the yangxian shushing 陽羨書生” (the Scholar from Yangxian)”), takes the same story to another level. The structure of the story is changed, and a number of literati aesthetic interests are added, improving the literary color, smoothing down the language, and making substitutions in the text’s specifics, thus, bolstering the sense of realism and history. Meanwhile, in Liu Yiqing’s 劉義慶 (403–444) Xuanjianj 宣驗記 (Records Manifest Records of Manifest Miracles), the Avadāna tale yingwu jiuhuo 鸚鵡救火 (“the Parrot Putting Out the Fire”) that he collected is not only associated with Buddhism but can also be seen as a commentary on the turbulent times and a hint of literati optimism if we view it in the context of Liu Yiqing’s Youminglu 幽明錄 (Record of the Hidden and Visible Worlds). The literary elites of the Six Dynasties drew inspiration from Buddhist Avadāna sources and imaginatively mixed them with historical circumstances to create Chinese fiction with new intentions. The rich resources of Avadāna literature from India and the fable tradition in Chinese literature create cultural conditions for these two sources to combine and mutually develop, forming a world of literature with colorful and meaningful stories.
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M.M., Raihanah, and Mohd Muzhafar Idrus. "Growing Up with Ghosts: Dynamics of Rememory and Trauma in a Malaysian Filial Memoir." Kajian Malaysia 40, no. 1 (April 27, 2022): 1–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.21315/km2022.40.1.1.
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Communicating stories matter when writers highlight the dynamics of mining the most private experiences for material. Whether humiliating or painful, it is often in the hands of writers that stories are made profound, interesting and fascinating. Yet, to readers, vivid scenarios, specific identification, convincing characters and real-life snapshots, just to name a few, present insights into human condition. Malaysian writers who report such investigations describing more than just their own memories and histories include Bernice Chauly and her critically acclaimed memoir, “Growing Up with Ghosts”. “Growing Up with Ghosts” begins with a private memory of a four-year-old girl at the freak drowning of her father and gradually unfolds into a patrio/matriographic memoir that recounts the paternal and maternal history of her Chinese and Punjabi ancestries. Using key concepts of memory theory and trauma studies including rememory, postmemory and empathic unsettlement, this article primarily examines the collection of episodic and semantic memory presented in the memoir. The reflexive and often sporadic, chaotic recounts following the death of her father provides a vivid depiction of the experience of post-parental death. The findings reveal how the filial memoir implicates the reader through “empathic unsettlement” of the trauma suffered by the memoirist through acts of memory, rememory and postmemory. The reader also suffers the burden through postmemory in the act of reading the delayed, indirect and secondary memory of the memoirist. Reading a multigenre, multivocal narrative can capture the theme of loss and grief not merely as a form of selfpositioning, but more significantly, as a move towards creating an “identity forging discourse”.
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Borges Costa, Marilia. "Intercultural dialogue." Cultural China in Discursive Transformation 21, no. 2 (July 5, 2011): 330–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/japc.21.2.10bor.
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The scientific breakthroughs of important theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, etc., engendered a new concept of subject. Instead of the centered and integrated Cartesian subject, the postmodern individual is fragmented and multiple, affected by ideology and by his/her unconscious. This makes it necessary to analyze the historical and psychological dimensions to apprehend his/her complexity. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s The woman warrior — memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, first published in 1976, it is possible to identify the multiple subject positionings of the main character, who is also the narrator. As a North American of Chinese descent, she portrays Chinese legends, myths, and family stories of her ethnic community through an American frame of mind. Growing up in the intersection of cultures, a position of in-between cultures, and having to deal with different customs and values, the narrator faces conflicts and paradoxes. Her contradictory and fragmentary identity reveals the hybrid and diasporic character of the Chinese American author. Kingston constantly brings together the discourses of her Chinese cultural heritage and the American ones presented in her environment. With this constant dialogue between different cultural elements, the narrator tries to forge a sense of wholeness, a unified cultural identity, of her various subjective positions. The result of this effort, however, is a culturally unstable identity: The woman warrior reflects the heterogeneous nature of the main character and the author, revealing to the reader the Chinese American “country” and culture in all its singularity and uniqueness. The theoretical framework used to analyze the different expressions of subjectivity in the main character of this fictional autobiography is based on critics of Postmodernism and on cultural studies about diasporas.
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kim, do-hyoung. "Reconsideration on the Work’s Internal and External Context Regarding the 『Seolgongchanjeon』 Shock: Focusing on cross-examination over 『Yongjaechonghwa』 and 『Yongcheondamjeokgi』." Korean Language and Literature 121 (July 30, 2022): 81–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.21793/koreall.2022.121.81.
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his study cross-examined two works recording Chae Su in order to clarify the nature of the 『Seolgongchanjeon』 shock that occurred in the initial reign of King Jungjong. Seong Hyeon recorded an anecdote about his colleague, Chae Su, in 『Yongjaechonghwa』 while Kim An-ro wrote 『Yongcheondamjeokgi』 in exile at the time when 『Yongjaechonghwa』 was published including an anecdote of his father-in-law, Chae Su, in it. In this sense, 『Yongjaechonghwa』 and 『Yongcheondamjeokgi』 work as records on political fluctuations in the 15th and 16th centuries and as cross-narratives to understand Chae Su’s 『Seolgongchanjeon 』. In 『Yongjaechonghwa』, Chae Su is depicted as Sadaebu equipped with literary talent and wit, and in 『Yongcheondamjeokgi』, he highlights Chae Su’s reputation from a son-in-law’s standpoint. This is primarily attributed to the difference of relationship as a friend and son-in-law, but it provides a piece of information that the person named Chae Su was not the owner of unconventional ideas. In the context of 『Yongjaechonghwa』, the ban of 『Seolgongchanjeon』 stems from the gap between narrative verisimilitudity and the form of a traditional narrative, and the context of 『Yongcheondamjeokgi 』 provides the logic that 『Seolgongchanjeon』 is grounded on the true story, which dilutes the unconventionality of the work. In conclusion, by comparing the articles of 『Yongjaechonghwa』 and 『Yongcheondamjeokgi』, this author could learn that the 『Seolgongchanjeon』 shock originated from the perspective of investigating Cha Sue’s ideas to see his political orientation. Also, with 『Yongjaechonghwa』, it was possible to find out newly about the fact that the Chinese envoy, ‘Aebak’, appearing in 『Seolgongchanjeon』 was a real person. This reveals a different perspective from the elements previously presented for the ban of 『Seolgongchanjeon』, for instance, possession or the experience of ghost or the afterworld. This is because such subject matters are frequently mentioned in 『Yongjaechonghwa』, too, and even Seong Hyeon himself describes his own stories about seeing ghosts. Moreover, Chae Su’s story about experiencing ghost in 『Yongcheondamjeokgi』 serves as an anecdote that reinforces the fact that the ban of 『Seolgongchanjeon』 that formed the center of controversy before was not intended but it came from the writer’s own experience. Therefore, cross-examination over 『Yongjaechonghwa』 and 『Yongcheondamjeokgi』 presents multidimensional information about Chae Su and provides new context that is useful to understand 『Seolgongchanjeon』.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Ghosts stories, Chinese"
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HUANG, CHENG-WEI, and 黃正葳. "The Study of the Variations of Ghosts in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio." Thesis, 2016. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/dt53r9.
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碩士國立屏東大學
中國語文學系碩士班
104
This study is carried out based on the ghost tales in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. It focuses on the variations between good and evil sides of ghosts, and makes a comparison between reasons of changes for this work and previous ones. Also, it explores the relationship between the description of the ghosts and the life experience and thoughts of the author, Pu Songling. By connecting the variation of ghosts to the meta-meanings of the work Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, we may understand how Pu expressed himself in the form of ghosts, used ghosts to be sarcastic and critical about the society of that time in romantic creations, and depended on his Utopian thoughts. This dissertation is composed of six chapters and the following is the synopsis: Chapter One: Overview. In this chapter, research motives and goals are explained. 111 ghost stories out of the 491 works in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio are selected. Besides, the work frame of the dissertation, literature reviews, and references will be involved. Chapter Two: Pu Songling and Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. I explore the causes of how Pu’s life experience and background fostered the feelings of solitude and fury, and how background characteristic of times influenced the scholars of that time. Next, I illuminate the creation process of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and analyze the relationship between the philosophy of Pu and the moral lessons behind the book. Chapter Three: The similarities and dissimilarities between ghosts in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and those in other supernatural stories in Northern and Southern Dynasty. I use the diachronic method to analyze the discrepancies among the authors’ intents, the images of ghosts, and the relationship between humans and ghosts so as to be a thesis for further discussion of the variations of ghosts. Chapter Four: The variations of ghosts in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. I use textual analysis to categorize five types of evil ghosts and six types of good ghosts, explore how Pu made analogies of evil ghosts to its good ones in his tales and compared the inner meanings between good ghosts and evil men, and then explain the dual metaphors of the variations of ghosts in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Chapter Five: The use of trauma narration in literature in the variations of ghosts. In terms of trauma narration in literature, we understand Pu’s experiences and changes of his mental status on national affairs, personal career, and marriages based on his biography. Then, we analyze how Pu presented his traumatic experiences in the form of scholars in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and reconstructed the ideal life by shaping the images of ghosts. Chapter Six: Conclusion. In this chapter, an inductive result of the variations of ghosts and the implications is involved.
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Ping-Piao-Liu and 劉炳彪. "The world Ghost and Fox-spirits in Strange Stories from a Chinese studio." Thesis, 2005. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/aszg5q.
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碩士國立臺東大學
兒童文學研究所
93
Abstract The fox spirit has the universal image of being tricky and the image of ghost is gloomy and terrifying, no matter in eastern or western culture. However, no one has ever encountered with a fox spirit or a ghost for sure. Then how do the writers describe the things they have never experienced? In Aesop’s Fables, which is a common introductory literature for children, there is an impressive character, the fox, the smart, witty, wicked and tricky animal. The image of fox stays in children’s mind firmly. Listening to ghost stories is one of the favorite exciting experience in childhood. Children are curious about the ghost stories and are at the same time afraid of listening to them because of the fear of overwhelming gloomy darkness. The making of images, like tricky fox spirit and the gloomy ghost, is artificial. If this assumption is true, does every maker think of an identical image? Do Chinese writers agree with foreign writers on the ideas of fox spirit and ghost? Human, who called themselves the lord of all creatures, always makes the judge of good and evil. However, can human be detached when he makes the judgment? Considering from another perspective, if a certain convention is subverted, will the roles meet conflicts? These questions are good research topics. Sung-ling Pu, the writer of Strange Stories from a Chinese studio, provided a total different perspective from the convention. He has subverted the images of fox spirit being tricky, and ghost being gloomy. This subversion carries some implied meanings, which the writer intended to express. In this thesis, the research attempt to give an interpretation which is clear and close to the writer’s intentions through analyzing and generalizing the types, characters, images, themes, and traits of fox spirit and ghost stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese studio.
Books on the topic "Ghosts stories, Chinese"
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Pan, Shaocong. Ling jie chu. Xianggang: Bo yi chu ban ji tuan you xian gong si, 2007.
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1959-, Sui Haoping, ed. Na yi ye, wo men liao A'piao. Xinbei Shi Xindian Qu: Ren lei zhi ku shu wei ke ji gu fen you xian gong si, 2013.
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Fan, Yang. Xiao liao zhai: Liao zhai zhi yi gu shi jing bian. Xianggang: Wan li ji gou, Ming hua chu ban gong si, 2003.
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Compestine, Ying Chang. A banquet for hungry ghosts. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2009.
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Compestine, Ying Chang. A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2009.
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ill, Hata Kōshirō 1963, and Lai Bingwei, eds. Dan xiao de yao guai: Xiao xiong Beilu he xiao chong Dada. Taibei Shi: Xiao lu wen hua shi ye gu fen you xian gong si, 2008.
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Xiuhua, Chen. Taiwan nü gui: Min su xue li de nü gui yi xiang. Taibei Shi: Taiwan dong fan gu fen you xian gong si, 2018.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Ghosts stories, Chinese"
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Ng, Kenny K. K. "Censorship at Work: Cold War Paranoia and Purgation of Chinese Ghost Stories." In The Humanities in Asia, 111–28. Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3668-2_6.
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Kang, Xiaofei. "Conclusion." In Enchanted Revolution, 194–206. Oxford University PressNew York, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197654477.003.0009.
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Abstract Chapter 9 concludes the book by discussing the historical, comparative, and contemporary significance of bringing religion and gender into the discussion of Maoist revolutionary politics. From Yan’an to Beijing, the subliminal yet ingenious use of religion and gender rhetoric fundamentally shaped the CCP’s mass mobilization. The chapter further points out the ramifications of the anti-superstition campaign’s rhetoric, methods, and stories for the Maoist PRC. The White-Haired Girl’s archetypal storyline of salvation justified the Party’s civilizing mission among China’s ethnic nationalities and paved the way for the Cult of Mao. Moreover, the chapter discusses how the Chinese revolution’s battle with ghosts and demons differed from the one against the Church and God in Soviet antireligious discourse. Finally, the revolution’s tenacious connections with China’s old cultural system underpin the Maoist legacies that sustain the current regime. The market economy may have dissolved the old rhetoric of class struggle, but the saga does continue for the CCP.
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"Pandemic First Patients." In SARS Stories, 180–237. Duke University Press, 2024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/9781478027812-005.
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Chapter 4 examines global anglophone discourses on SARS and their accounts of three Chinese first patients: Pang Zuoyao, the index case of the Foshan outbreak and the world's first known case of SARS; Liu Jianlun, the index case of the Hong Kong Metropole Hotel outbreak; and Esther Mok, the index case in Singapore. The chapter analyzes anglophone news media, popular science journalism, and academic writing that propagate sinophobic or bioorientalist inaccuracies and distortions about these first SARS patients. In counterpoint, the chapter uses Chinese-language reporting, epidemiological studies, and primary sources from local medical and governmental archives to reconstruct each patient's disease experience and social world, arguing for their ordinary humanity. The chapter coda discusses the reported surge in paranormal encounters during COVID-19 and ends with Russell Lee's True Singapore Ghost Stories as an indigenous folkloric mode of inter-pandemic wisdom transmission.
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Hardin, Garrett. "From Jevons's Coal to Hubbert's Pimple." In Living within Limits. Oxford University Press, 1993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195078114.003.0018.
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In a commercial society like ours it is understandable that money-makers should be the ones who pay the greatest attention to the implications of economics. Historians have been a breed apart, with most of them (until recently) paying little heed to the ways in which economics affects history. Yet surprisingly, a basis for the eventual integration of economics, ecology, and history was laid in the nineteenth century. The Victorian who tackled history from the economic side was William Stanley Jevons (1835-1882). The distinction made in the previous chapter between living in a area and living on it was a paraphrase of what Jevons wrote about the material basis of English prosperity: "The plains of North America and Russia are our cornfields; Chicago and Odessa our granaries; Canada and the Baltic are our timber forests; Australia contains our sheep farms, and in South America are our herds of oxen;.. . the Chinese grow tea for us, and our coffee, sugar, and spice plantations are in all the Indies. Spain and France are our vineyards, and the Mediterranean our fruit-garden.'" A century before the term "ghost acres" was coined, Jevons had clearly in mind the idea behind the term. Half a century before Jevons was born—in fact in the year the Bastille was stormed by French revolutionaries (1789)—an English mineral surveyer by the name of John Williams had asked, in The Limited Quantity of Coal of Britain, what would happen to the blessings of the industrial revolution when England no longer possessed the wherewithal to power the machinery that produced her wealth? Optimism is so deeply engrained a characteristic of busy people that this warning, like most first warnings, was little noted. It remained for Jevons to rouse the British public in 1865 with the publication of his book, The Coal Question. Jevons's life coincided in time with the period when the nature and significance of energy (in its prenuclear formulation) was becoming manifest to physical scientists. Since energy was needed to turn the wheels of industry, and coal was the most readily available source of energy, Jevons reasoned that the continued political dominance of Great Britain was dependent on the bounty of her coal. This naturally led to the double question, How long would English coal and the British Empire last?