MATRONE CHINOISE: OU L'EPREUVE RIDICULE, COMEDIE (1765); ED. BY LING-LING SHEU

La Matrone chinoise, ou l'épreuve ridicule was originally written by Pierre-René Lemonnier and performed at the Comédie-Italienne in 1765. The play is a notable example of chinoiserie, a Western artistic trend characterized by the repetitive use of Chinese-inspired motifs and themes that flourished in 18th-century European literature and theater. Lemonnier’s work reflects the period’s fascination with exoticism and the adaptation of Eastern folktales, specifically drawing upon the tradition of the 'Matron of Ephesus' while transplanting the narrative into a stylized, imaginative Chinese setting.

This 2003 edition, published by the University of Exeter Press, was edited by Ling-Ling Sheu as part of the Exeter Textes Littéraires series. The volume provides a scholarly critical edition of the play, offering essential context for Lemonnier’s contribution to the French comic repertoire. Sheu’s editorial work serves to reintroduce a piece that had largely faded from active performance, grounding it in the historical context of its original reception while documenting the influence of the French Enlightenment’s preoccupation with non-Western cultures.