Authenticity by Anthology

This paper focuses on a small group of Ming dynasty poetic sequences on the theme of exploring a woman's body. Such sequences are exceedingly rare in imperial-era Chinese literature and have attracted a great deal of scholarly attention. They all first appeared in works of fiction, only to be reattributed to other imaginary persons in a different time and place when they were incorporated into anthologies. The fact that such problematic writings were included in prestigious anthologies of the Ming and Qing dynasties is indicative of a very different understanding of authenticity from that which pertains today.