The “Supplementary” Historian? Li Zhao’s Guo shi bu as Mid-Tang Political and Social Critique

T oung Pao ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 103 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 407-447
Author(s):  
Anna M. Shields

This article examines the Tang dynasty anecdote collection Guo shi bu 國史補 (Supplement to the History of the State), compiled by Li Zhao 李肇 (?-after 827) in part as a critique of imperial government and elite social mores of the early decades of the ninth century. A quantitative analysis of topic frequency and distribution in the collection reveals Li Zhao’s techniques for depicting the corruption or political brilliance of the reigns of Tang emperors, as well as his admiration of powerful aristocratic clans, and his disdain for social climbing, perspectives that likely stemmed from his experiences as an official in Xianzong’s court and his elite family background. Understanding the organization, underlying themes, and structure of individual anecdotes of the Guo shi bu allows us to see the ways that anecdotes and “miscellaneous” histories ultimately shaped official accounts of the Tang dynasty.
Cet article examine la collection d’anecdotes d’époque Tang Guo shi bu 國史補 (supplément à l’histoire de l’Etat) compilée par Li Zhao 李肇 (?-après 827), et la considère en partie comme une critique du gouvernement impérial et des mœurs des élites au début du ixe siècle. Une analyse quantitative des thèmes traités, dans leur fréquence et leur répartition au sein de l’ouvrage permet de révéler les techniques mises en œuvre par Li Zhao pour décrire la corruption ou le rayonnement politique des règnes des empereurs Tang successifs, son admiration pour les grands clans aristocratiques, et son dédain pour les parvenus et l’ascension sociale. Li hérite certainement cette vision de son expérience en tant que fonctionnaire à la cour de Xianzong ainsi que de son ascendance au sein des élites. Une telle compréhension de l’organisation du Guo shi bu, de ses thèmes sous-jacents et de la structure des anecdotes prises individuellement nous permet de mieux saisir comment les anecdotes et les miscellanées ont fini par déterminer le contenu des histoires officielles de la dynastie des Tang.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (33) ◽  
pp. 029-060
Author(s):  
林保全 林保全

<p>本篇論文旨在藉由《經典釋文.序錄》,考察陸德明如何對秦漢以來的經學流衍提出梳理原則,從而析釐出〈序錄〉中的經學觀念。</p> <p>首先,陸德明針對了經典的範圍重新定義,以「經典」一詞命名,回應經典範圍逐漸擴大的經學議題。其次,提出自己判斷經典次第的標準,回應經學史上經典次第的安排議題。第三,提出具體的選擇標準,用以選擇今、古文的底本。第四,利用音注與義注選取的偏重,回應先秦以來掌握經典旨意的入手次第。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>This paper seeks to investigate the way Lu De-Ming compiled Jingdian Shiwen (Textual Explanations of Classics and Canons) in the Tang Dynasty. On a more specific basis, how did he systematically collate various issues concerning the history of the study of Confucian classics since the Qin, Han and Six Dynasties in Jingdian Shiwen, and thereby presented integrated and unified research findings? </p> <p>The general principles and methods that Lu applied to accomplishing this monumental task include: (1) redefine the scope of classics; (2) establish the criteria for ordering the classics; (3) transcend the dichotomy between archaic scripts and new-text Confucianism; and (4) grasp the connotation and significance of classics by correcting the pronunciation of the keywords in annotated classics.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>


Author(s):  
David Damrosch

This chapter explains how the history of comparative literature is a history of archives, such as of libraries and collections that are either preserved or lost and studied or forgotten. It mentions the first library that was established by the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang when he returned from his epochal journey to the western regions in order to collect Buddhist manuscripts. It also talks about the foundations of comparative literature that were established by the comparative philology that began in Renaissance Italy and spread to many parts of Enlightenment Europe. The chapter looks at Max Koch who wrote about comparative literary history and how it gained a sure footing with the inclusion of Oriental material. It also analyzes non-Eurocentric comparatism that draws on philological traditions from China and Japan to the Arab world.


1960 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Blackmore

The history of the state of Nan-chao () is closely interwoven with episodes in the history of Northern South-East Asia. The writings of Pelliot and G. H. Luce have shown the importance of eighth and ninth-century Nan-chao incursions into what is now Burma, while a Nanchao invasion of Tongking in the ninth century, with the help of local tribes, played its part in weakening the Chinese grip and contributing to the independence of Vietnam. There is, moreover, the vexed question of the relationship between Nan-chao and the Thai states of Siam, still far from being solved.


NAN Nü ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith McMahon

“Women Rulers in Imperial China”is about the history and characteristics of rule by women in China from the Han dynasty to the Qing, especially focusing on the Tang dynasty ruler Wu Zetian (625-705) and the Song dynasty Empress Liu. The usual reason that allowed a woman to rule was the illness, incapacity, or death of her emperor-husband and the extreme youth of his son the successor. In such situations, the precedent was for a woman to govern temporarily as regent and, when the heir apparent became old enough, hand power to him. But many women ruled without being recognized as regent, and many did not hand power to the son once he was old enough, or even if they did, still continued to exert power. In the most extreme case, Wu Zetian declared herself emperor of her own dynasty. She was the climax of the long history of women rulers. Women after her avoided being compared to her but retained many of her methods of legitimization, such as the patronage of art and religion, the use of cosmic titles and vocabulary, and occasional gestures of impersonating a male emperor. When women ruled, it was an in-between time when notions and language about something that was not supposed to be nevertheless took shape and tested the limits of what could be made acceptable.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 331-334
Author(s):  
H. Oda ◽  
H. Yasu ◽  
K. Ikeda ◽  
M. Sakamoto ◽  
Y. Yoshizawa

Abstract The Miidera-gire is an ancient paper sheet with different, elegant calligraphy on both sides. One side contains a part of a Buddhist scripture from around the ninth to the twelfth century and written in cursive hand, while the other side contains a part of Monzen (an anthology of Chinese literary works). The paleographical style of this Monzen seems to be older than that of the Buddhist scripture and is similar to some Chinese manuscripts written in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907). However, amid these elegant calligraphic writings, there exist many copies and counterfeits that were written several centuries later. We, therefore, measured the radiocarbon age of the Miidera-gire by using accelerator mass spectrometry. The calibrated radiocarbon age indicated 666–776 [cal AD] (2σ error), thus leading to the conclusion that the Monzen was first written on the obverse side, and long afterwards, the Buddhist scripture was written on the reverse side. Since only a few incomplete books of Monzen were written before the ninth century, this calligraphy is one of the oldest of the existing Monzen manuscripts.


Author(s):  
N.N. Seregin ◽  
E.A. Narudtseva ◽  
A.N. Chistyakova ◽  
S.S. Radovsky

This article is concerned with the Chinese metal mirror, which, as it has been found during the study, has been stored for a long time in the collection of the Altai State Museum of Local Lore, but as yet has not attracted the attention of specialists and has not been introduced into scientific discourse. A special research has been required to determine the time and circumstances of its arrival to the museum, which involved working with the documentation of the Altai State Museum of Local Lore, stored both within the institute and in the State Archives of the Altai Territory. It has been concluded, that the mirror represents an occasional find and it came to the mu-seum in the first quarter of the 20th century from the Yenisei Province (currently, the southwestern part of Kras-noyarsk District. The article presents a detailed morphological characteristic of this artifact. The basis of the com-position in the ornamented part of the mirror is a stylized image of a single dragon. Its mouth is trying to grasp the holder, which symbolizes the “fire pearl”. The analysis of the specialised literature and catalogues showed that in Chinese mirrors such composition appeared only during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and continued to exist dur-ing the Song Period (907–1279). It has been determined that the composition presented on such objects was reproduced for several centuries (Jin, Liao, and Yuan Dynasties), undergoing transformations associated with stylistic nuances (details of the image, shape of mirror, presence or absence of inscriptions) and size and quality of the objects. Based on the obtained data, the mirror from the Altai State Museum of Local Lore has been attrib-uted to the Yuan dynasty period. There are almost no analogies to such objects in Northern and Central Asia, despite the significant number of mirrors of the Mongolian time stored in collections of Siberian museums. There-fore, it seems possible to acknowledge the rarity of these very specimens; the fragmentarity of their distribution could possibly be explained by peculiarities of the history of specific craft centers that have yet to be investigated.


This chapter studies the development and basic ideas of Chinese aesthetics by reviewing the history of aesthetic perspective from the Han Dynasty; the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties; the Tang Dynasty; the Five Dynasties; the Song and Yuan Dynasties; and the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The ancient Chinese artists pursued the artistic conception of beauty, namely, the integration of mind and objects, sentiments, and scenes, and the fusion of subjective emotions and objective landscape. Nevertheless, this conception overlooks the function of practice, the intermediary between mind and objects. Actually, there are three fundamental elements: emotion (first feeling) of aesthetic subjects; artistic conception sensed through the painting brush in practice (perception); poetry, books, songs, and paintings as artistic finished products (containing essence and sentiments). It is the combination, conformity, and harmonious co-existence of these three essentials (namely subject–practice–object) that constitute the art system aesthetics or design aesthetics.


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