Interpretation and Literature in Early Medieval China

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Covering a time of great intellectual ferment and great influence on what was to come, this book explores the literary and hermeneutic world of early medieval China. In addition to profound political changes, the fall of the Han dynasty allowed new currents in aesthetics, literature, interpretation, ethics, and religion to emerge during the Wei-Jin Nanbeichao period. The contributors to this volume present developments in literature and interpretation during this era from a variety of methodological perspectives, frequently highlighting issues hitherto unremarked in Western or even Chinese and Japanese scholarship. These include the rise of new literary and artistic values as the Han declined, changing patterns of patronage that helped reshape literary tastes and genres, and new developments in literary criticism. The religious changes of the period are revealed in the literary self-presentation of spiritual seekers, the influence of Daoism on motifs in poetry, and Buddhist influences on both poetry and historiography. Traditional Chinese literary figures, such as the fox and the ghost, receive fresh analysis about their particular representation during this period.
Introduction
Alan K. L. Chan and Yuet-Keung Lo

1. Court Culture in the Late Eastern Han: The Case of the Hongdu Gate School
David R. Knechtges

2. The Patterns and Changes of Literary Patronage in the Han and Wei
Jui-Lung Su

3. Wandering in the Ruins: The Shuijing zhu Reconsidered
Michael Nylan

4. Evolving Practices of Guan and Liu Xie’s Theory of Literary Interpretation
Zong-Qi Cai

5. Narrative in the Self-Presentation of Transcendence-Seekers
Robert Ford Campany

6 “Jade Flower” and the Motif of Mystic Excursion in Early Religious Daoist Poetry
Timothy Wai-Keung Chan

7. Representing the Uncommon: Temple-Visit Lyrics from the Liang to Sui Dynasties
Cynthia L. Chennault

8. Fox as Trickster in Early Medieval China
Daniel Hsieh

9. Justice, Morality, and Skepticism in Six Dynasties Ghost Stories
Mu-chou Poo

List of Contributors
Index

Sujets

• East Asian religions
• History of Asia
• China

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438432199
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

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Interpretation and Literature
Chan and Lo
in Early Medieval China
Interpret
a
tion
and

Litera
ture
in Earl
y Mediev
al
China
S
U
N
Y
P
R
E
S
S
Edited by
Alan K.
L.
Chan
and
Y
uet-Keung LoInterpretation and Literature
in Early Medieval ChinaSUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture
Roger T. Ames, editorInterpretation
and Literature in
Early Medieval China
edited by
Alan K. L. Chan and Yuet-Keung LoPublished by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2010 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic,
magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the
prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production by Ryan Morris
Marketing by Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Interpretation and literature in early medieval China / edited by Alan K. L. Chan
and Yuet-Keung Lo.
p. cm. — (Suny series in Chinese philosophy and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-3217-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Chinese literature—220–589—History and criticism. 2. Chinese
literature—Explication. 3. Chinese literature—Philosophy. 4. Philosophy
in literature. 5. Hermeneutics. 6. Religion and literature—China—History.
7. China—Intellectual life—221 B.C.–960 A.D. I. Chan, Alan Kam-Leung,
1956– II. Lo, Yuet Keung.
PL2284.5.I67 2010
895.1'09002—dc22 2009051688
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents
Introduction 1
Alan K. L. Chan and Yuet-Keung Lo
1 Court Culture in the Late Eastern Han:
The Case of the Hongdu Gate School 9
David R. Knechtges
2 The Patterns and Changes of Literary Patronage
in the Han and Wei 41
Jui-Lung Su
3 Wandering in the Ruins: The Shuijing zhu Reconsidered 63
Michael Nylan
4 Evolving Practices of Guan and Liu Xie’s Theory of
Literary Interpretation 103
Zong-Qi Cai
5 Narrative in the Self-Presentation of Transcendence-Seekers 133
Robert Ford Campany
6 “Jade Flower” and the Motif of Mystic Excursion
in Early Religious Daoist Poetry 165
Timothy Wai-Keung Chan
7 Representing the Uncommon: Temple-Visit Lyrics from the
Liang to Sui Dynasties 189
Cynthia L. Chennault
8 Fox as Trickster in Early Medieval China 223
Daniel Hsieh
vvi Contents
9 Justice, Morality, and Skepticism in Six Dynasties Ghost Stories 251
Mu-chou Poo
List of Contributors 275
Index 279
Introduction
Early medieval China, spanning the period from the last years of the
Eastern, or Later Han dynasty (second century C.E.) to the early Tang in
the seventh century, marks an era of profound change in Chinese history.
The decline and eventual demise of the Han dynasty in 220 C.E. altered
drastically the Chinese political and intellectual landscape. During the
(Wei, Jin, and the Southern and period of Wei-Jin Nanbeichao
Northern Dynasties, 220–589) that followed, leaving aside changes on
the political front, new currents in aesthetics, ethics, hermeneutics,
literature, and religion surged to the fore and left an indelible mark on the
subsequent development of Chinese thought and culture. The nine essays
gathered here explore from a variety of methodological perspectives the
hermeneutic and literary world of early medieval China.
This book should be perused together with its companion, Philosophy
and Religion in Early Medieval China, also published by SUNY Press
(2010), which offers eleven studies on major issues in Wei-Jin xuanxue
(learning of the mysterious Dao), the widespread phenomenon of
) and retri-reclusion among the literati, conceptions of “destiny” (ming
bution, and aspects of religious Daoism and Buddhism. In the Introduction
to that volume, we sketched a fuller background, including references to
earlier studies and the usage of key terms such as “xuanxue” and “early
medieval China” itself, which will not be repeated in these pages. What
should be reiterated is that the division into two volumes refl ects not only
thematic interest but also a pragmatic decision. The project was conceived
as a multidisciplinary venture. Scholarship does not grow well in
insularity; our plan was to bring together in a single book fresh studies on early
medieval Chinese philosophy, religion, literature and interpretation, not
1
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É4È 2 ÔGû
}
ó
2 Introduction
only to deepen our understanding of these topics but also to open up
a view of the interconnectedness of the early medieval Chinese
intellectual enterprise. However, a single volume proved unworkable, given the
constraints that publishers face. Still, some of the essays may fi t just as
nicely in this or in the companion volume. Mu-chou Poo’s study here, for
example, could be featured in the latter, for it addresses not only the
literary but also the ethical and religious functions of ghosts in early
medieval China. Victor Mair’s chapter in the companion volume, on the early
ì" , to take but one more Chinese Buddhist interpretive method of geyi
example, certainly would not be out of place in this collection in view of
its hermeneutical interest. In any event, the two volumes together should
provide useful glimpses into the world of thought and culture in early
medieval China, which in our view deserves greater attention than what
is currently available in English.
Literature refl ects the values and power relations that bind together
men of letters, the principal (though, of course, not the only) inhabitants
of the world of thought in early medieval China. The present volume
opens with a fascinating accoun