Disappearing Objects/Elusive Subjects

2013 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Varsano
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Classical Period ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Literary Representations ◽  
Literary Subject ◽  
Gradual Transformation

This paper examines changes in the philosophical and literary representations of mirrors—and mirroring—in a foundational period of Chinese history beginning with the pre-classical period and ending in the medieval Tang Dynasty. Inspired by the peculiarity of this object, which acts upon subjects at least as much as it is acted upon by them, this study of the literary mirror, of reflection and reflexivity, provides a glimpse into the larger issue of the construction of subjectivity in premodern China. Through the examination of each stage of the literary mirror’s gradual transformation from metaphor, to lyrical stimulus, and ultimately to its subsumption as an evocative predicate, it is possible to observe concomitant shifts in the construction of the literary subject as it displays increasing—but never absolute—degrees of specificity, distinctness, and autonomy.

scholarly journals Could phenological records from Chinese poems of the Tang and Song dynasties (618–1279 CE) be reliable evidence of past climate changes?

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 929-950
Author(s):  
Yachen Liu ◽  
Xiuqi Fang ◽  
Junhu Dai ◽  
Huanjiong Wang ◽  
Zexing Tao
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Past Climate ◽  
Tang And Song Dynasties ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Past Climate Change ◽  
Phenological Records

Abstract. Phenological records in historical documents have been proven to be of unique value for reconstructing past climate changes. As a literary genre, poetry reached its peak in the Tang and Song dynasties (618–1279 CE) in China. Sources from this period could provide abundant phenological records in the absence of phenological observations. However, the reliability of phenological records from poems, as well as their processing methods, remains to be comprehensively summarized and discussed. In this paper, after introducing the certainties and uncertainties of phenological information in poems, the key processing steps and methods for deriving phenological records from poems and using them in past climate change studies are discussed: (1) two principles, namely the principle of conservatism and the principle of personal experience, should be followed to reduce uncertainties; (2) the phenological records in poems need to be filtered according to the types of poems, background information, rhetorical devices, spatial representations, and human influence; (3) animals and plants are identified at the species level according to their modern distributions and the sequences of different phenophases; (4) phenophases in poems are identified on the basis of modern observation criteria; (5) the dates and sites for the phenophases in poems are confirmed from background information and related studies. As a case study, 86 phenological records from poems of the Tang Dynasty in the Guanzhong region in China were extracted to reconstruct annual temperature anomalies in specific years in the period between 600 and 900 CE. Following this, the reconstruction from poems was compared with relevant reconstructions in published studies to demonstrate the validity and reliability of phenological records from poems in studies of past climate changes. This paper reveals that the phenological records from poems could be useful evidence of past climate changes after being scientifically processed. This could provide an important reference for future studies in this domain, in both principle and methodology, pursuant of extracting and applying phenological records from poems for larger areas and different periods in Chinese history.

Klassische chinesische Philosophie

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert Schleichert ◽  
Heiner Roetz
Keyword(s):  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Classical Period ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Fourth Edition ◽  
Philosophical Thought ◽  
Ancient Civilization ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Enlightenment

Chinese philosophical thought, which has fascinated Europe ever since the Enlightenment, originated in one of the most turbulent periods of Chinese history, the period from the sixth to the third century BC, in response to a crisis of disruption in ancient civilization. This book is dedicated to this "classical" period because of its lasting significance. It is intended to provide readers, even those without prior knowledge, with a reliable introduction to all the essential thinkers of the epoch, beginning with Confucius. Through numerous quotations, all translated from the original sources, the reader is introduced to the content, style and methodology of the ancient philosophies. In doing so, the book also gives repeated indications of the undiminished relevance of the positions represented. This fourth edition has been extensively revised and enhanced.

The Other China Hunger: Part II

Worldview ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
Miriam London ◽  
Ivan D. London
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
The Other ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Chinese Cities ◽  
The Tang Dynasty

It's nothing new in Chinese history to impress the foreigner for the sake of the country's face,” said a young escaper last year in Hong Kong, who by no means intended to denigrate his country. “When people from other countries came to the ancient capital of Ch'ang An in the Tang Dynasty, it was so gorgeously decorated, those foreigners were astounded….If the rulers today desire not to let foreigners see anyone wearing patched clothes, that can easily be arranged. And if they want to show foreigners trees in Peking with silk hanging from the branches, that is also possible.”Visitors from afar viewing today what B. Michael Frolic describes as “the peaceful blues and grays and whites of Chinese cities” would certainly smile at the thought of brocades waving in the breeze.

Semi-Automating the Transformation of Chinese Historical Records Into Structured Biographical Data

2019 ◽  
pp. 228-246
Author(s):  
Lik Hang Tsui ◽  
Hongsu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Important Process ◽  
Biographical Data ◽  
Chinese Studies ◽  
Latin Script ◽  
The Tang Dynasty

This chapter explores and analyzes the new methods that the China Biographical Database (CBDB) project team has developed and adopted to digitize reference works about Chinese history, which is part of the important process of turning them into structured biographical data. This workflow focuses on the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and has implications for the continued improvement in the technologies for digitization and research into historical biographies in the Chinese language. These explorations and outcomes also demonstrate attempts in the Chinese studies field to transform large amounts of texts in non-Latin script into structured biographical data in a semi-automated fashion, and are expected to benefit digital humanities research, especially initiatives focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.

Zhuangzi’s Lone Project of Personal Freedom

2021 ◽  
pp. 287-338
Author(s):  
Tao Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Classical Period ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Critical Space ◽  
Personal Freedom ◽  
Chinese Intellectual

This chapter argues that Zhuangzi was an intellectual outlier who was not a significant participant in the debate on humaneness versus justice, carried out primarily among the Confucians, the Mohists, the Laoists, and the fajia thinkers during the classical period. He ridiculed the misguided character of the dominant intellectual projects and warned against their potential for inhumanity and injustice, the very opposite of what is intended by the participants of the mainstream discourse. He extoled personal freedom within the context of overwhelming emphasis on order, structured by humaneness and/or justice, and single-handedly opened up a critical space for the discourse on personal freedom in Chinese intellectual history. However, the marginal nature of the Zhuangist vision of personal freedom did not portend well its prospect in the subsequent Chinese history. The kind of freedom envisioned by Zhuangzi is an effortless navigation through and around the constraints of the human lifeworld, not a reimagining of those very constraints.

scholarly journals The Representation of Military Troops in Pingcheng Tombs and the Private Household Institution of Buqu in Practice

Asian Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-243
Author(s):  
Chin-Yin Tseng
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Life After Death ◽  
Point Of Interest ◽  
Mural Paintings ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
Northern Wei

In Northern Wei tombs of the Pingcheng period (398–494 CE), we notice a recurrence of the depiction of armed men in both mural paintings and tomb figurines, not in combat but positioned in formation. Consisting of infantry soldiers alongside light and heavy cavalry accompanied by flag bearers, such a military scene presents itself as a point of interest amidst the rest of the funerary setting. Is this supposed to be an indication that the tomb occupant had indeed commanded such an impressive set of troops in life? Or had the families commissioned this theme as part of the tomb repertoire simply in hopes of providing protection over the deceased in their life after death? If we set the examination of this type of image against textual history, the household institution of buqu retainers that began as early as the Xin (“New”) Dynasty (9–23 CE) and was codified in the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE), serving as private retainer corps of armed men to powerful families, appears to be the type of social institution reified in the archaeological materials mentioned above. The large-scale appearance of these military troops inside Pingcheng period tombs might even suggest that with the “tribal policy” in place, the Han Chinese practice of keeping buqu retainers became a convenient method for the Tuoba to manage recently conquered tribal confederations, shifting clan loyalty based on bloodline to household loyalty based on the buqu institution, one with a long social tradition in Chinese history.  

New Thoughts on the Social Forms of Ancient China (from the Zhou to Qing Dynasties)

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang Jinguang †
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
State Power ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Social Forms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Spring And Autumn Period ◽  
Village Societies

Abstract The entire course of ancient Chinese history has centered on state power, which dominated and shaped the basic picture of social history. The key to Chinese state power has been the state ownership of land, and based on this we can divide the social forms of ancient China into four successive periods: the period of yishe 邑社時代 or village societies (Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period); the period of official communal system 官社時代 (Warring States Period to Qin Dynasty to the early Han Dynasty); the period of half official communal system 半官社時代 (Han to Tang Dynasty); and the period of state vs. individual peasants 國家個體小農時代 (Song to Qing Dynasty).

scholarly journals Soft Law in Promoting the Return of Zhaoling Two Steeds in Tang Dynasty

2020 ◽  
pp. 293-312
Author(s):  
Li Weifang
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
The United States ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Cultural Objects ◽  
University Museum ◽  
The University ◽  
Social Upheaval ◽  
Domestic Law

It is generally accepted that stolen cultural objects shall be returned, but it is still a more complex and comparatively ambiguous matter when it comes to solving cases left over by history. The Six Stone Horse Reliefs are one of the most influential works of art in Chinese history, but unfortunately the beginning of 20th century witnessed the political and social upheaval of China, which resulted not only in people’s suffering but also in the loss of the cultural relics. The Six Stone Horse Reliefs were stolen and broken in China. Two of the six stone horses, called Sa Luzi and Quan Maogua, were illegally shipped to the United States and today are exhibited at the University Museum of Pennsylvania. While referring to the example of the Six Stone Horse Reliefs, this article puts forward the argument for using soft-law instruments to break through the shortcomings of existing international treaties and the limitations of domestic law.

scholarly journals Tang Dynasty Aesthetic Criteria: Zhang Huaiguan’s Shuduan

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 148-169
Author(s):  
Yolaine Escande
Keyword(s):  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Aesthetic Theory ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
European Tradition ◽  
The Tang Dynasty

The Shuduan 《書斷》 (Judgments on Calligraphers) by Zhang Huaiguan of the Tang dynasty comprises classifications of calligraphy that Chinese theoreticians still refer to. This article aims at considering the functioning and efficacy of such evaluations through a study comparing this work to other treatises and, when relevant, to the European tradition. Its main objective is to examine how Chinese aesthetic theory responded to new evaluative needs that appeared during this crucial period in Chinese history. Thus, it seeks to clarify the nature of the criteria adopted by Zhang Huaiguan for his gradings: are they material, ideological, aesthetic, or of another nature?

Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Course of History Since Middle Antiquity

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-119
Author(s):  
Li Zhi’an
Keyword(s):  
Song Dynasty ◽  
Tang Dynasty ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Southern Song ◽  
The North ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Tang Dynasty ◽  
The Yuan Dynasty ◽  
Southern Dynasties ◽  
Southern Institutions

Abstract Two periods in Chinese history can be characterized as constituting a North/South polarization: the period commonly known as the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420ad-589ad), and the Southern Song, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties (1115ad-1368ad). Both of these periods exhibited sharp contrasts between the North and South that can be seen in their respective political and economic institutions. The North/South parity in both of these periods had a great impact on the course of Chinese history. Both before and after the much studied Tang-Song transformation, Chinese history evolved as a conjoining of previously separate North/South institutions. Once the country achieved unification under the Sui Dynasty and early part of the Tang, the trend was to carry on the Northern institutions in the form of political and economic administration. Later in the Tang Dynasty the Northern institutions and practices gave way to the increasing implementation of the Southern institutions across the country. During the Song Dynasty, the Song court initially inherited this “Southernization” trend while the minority kingdoms of Liao, Xia, Jin, and Yuan primarily inherited the Northern practices. After coexisting for a time, the Yuan Dynasty and early Ming saw the eventual dominance of the Southern institutions, while in middle to late Ming the Northern practices reasserted themselves and became the norm. An analysis of these two periods of North/South disparity will demonstrate how these differences came about and how this constant divergence-convergence influenced Chinese history.

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