Writing and Authority in Early ChinaThis book traces the evolving uses of writing to command assent and obedience in early China, an evolution that culminated in the establishment of a textual canon as the foundation of imperial authority. Its central theme is the emergence of this body of writings as the textual double of the state, and of the text-based sage as the double of the ruler. The book examines the full range of writings employed in early China, such as divinatory records, written communications with ancestors, government documents, the collective writings of philosophical and textual traditions, speeches attributed to historical figures, chronicles, verse anthologies, commentaries, and encyclopedic compendia. Lewis shows how these writings served to administer populations, control officials, form new social groups, invent new models of authority, and create an artificial language whose master generated power and whose graphs became potent objects. |
Contents
POWERS OF WRITING | 1 |
WRITING AND THE FORMATION OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE | 4 |
WRITING THE STATE | 13 |
THE ARCHAIC BACKGROUND | 14 |
LAWS AND REGISTERS | 18 |
REPORTS TALLIES AND SEALS | 28 |
WRITING AND THE KING | 35 |
THE OFFICES OF ZHOU | 42 |
THE MYTHOLOGY OF FU XI | 197 |
THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE DUKE OF ZHOU | 209 |
THE MYTHOLOGY OF CONFUCIUS | 218 |
CONCLUSION | 238 |
THE NATURAL PHILOSOPHY OF WRITING | 241 |
BETWEEN DIVINATION AND PHILOSOPHY | 243 |
THE NATURAL PHILOSOPHY OF SIGNS | 252 |
IMAGES AND WRITING | 262 |
CONCLUSION | 48 |
WRITING THE MASTERS | 53 |
SCHOLARLY TEXTS | 54 |
SCHOLARLY TRADITIONS AND THE STATE | 63 |
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BASES OF THE TRADITIONS | 73 |
THE MASTER AS MODEL | 83 |
CONCLUSION | 94 |
WRITING THE PAST | 99 |
THE PAST IN SPEECHES | 101 |
THE PAST IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY | 109 |
THE PAST IN COSMOGONY | 123 |
THE PAST IN CHRONICLE | 130 |
CONCLUSION | 144 |
WRITING THE SELF | 147 |
COMPOSING THE ODES | 149 |
SPEAKING THROUGH THE ODES | 155 |
THE ODES AS PROOF AND SANCTION | 163 |
ANTHOLOGY AND AUTHORSHIP | 177 |
CONCLUSION | 192 |
THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF WRITING | 195 |
NUMBERS AND WRITING | 278 |
CONCLUSION | 284 |
THE ENCYCLOPEDIC EPOCH | 287 |
TOTALITY AND TRUTH | 289 |
CANON AND COMMENTARY | 297 |
STATESPONSORED COMPENDIA | 302 |
SIMA QIAN AND UNIVERSAL HISTORY | 308 |
SIMA XIANGRU AND UNIVERSAL POETRY | 317 |
THE LIU FAMILY AND THE UNIVERSAL LIBRARY | 325 |
CONCLUSION | 332 |
THE EMPIRE OF WRITING | 337 |
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CANON | 339 |
TRIUMPH OF THE CANON | 351 |
CONCLUSION | 361 |
CONCLUSION | 363 |
NOTES | 367 |
WORKS CITED | 497 |
527 | |
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Common terms and phrases
ancient authority Beijing canon chapter character China Chinese Chu ci Chun qiu cited commentary Confucian Confucius disciples discussed divination Duke of Zhou dynasty early Emperor Wu Feizi figures Fu Xi Gong Gongyang guan Han Feizi Heaven hexagrams Huainanzi images imperial intellectual jian jishi literary Lü shi chun Lun yu master Mencius Mengzi zhengyi ming Mohist Mozi odes officials passage philosophical poem political Qu Yuan ritual role ruler sacrifices sage kings scholars shan Shang shu Shen shi chun qiu Shiji Shuo Sima Qian Sima Xiangru spirits story Taipei texts textual theory Tian tion traditions trigrams verse Wang Warring States period Wei shu writing written Xian Xiang Xiao xing Xunzi yi zheng yi Yuan Zhang Zhao zhengyi zhong Zhou yi zheng zhu shu Zhuangzi Zuo zhuan zhu