The Human Tradition in Premodern China

Front Cover
Kenneth James Hammond
Rowman & Littlefield, 2002 - Biography & Autobiography - 172 pages
The Human Tradition in Premodern China is a collection of biographical essays revealing the variety and complexity of human experience in China from the earliest historical times to the dawn of the modern age. p China is a vast country with a long history, and one which is by itself as complex as the history of Europe. This broad expanse of time and space in Chinese history has largely been approached in terms of narrative political and cultural history in most books. The reigns of emperors and the thoughts of the great masters such as Confucius or Laozi have been the principal focus. Yet the history of the Chinese, as with any great people, is built up from the lives of individuals, families, groups, and movements. By presenting life stories of individuals ranging from ancient court diviners to late imperial merchants to women in various periods, this engaging anthology highlights aspects of Chinese social, political and intellectual history not usually addressed. Additionally, The Human Tradition in Premodern China broadens the common image and understanding of society based on the dominant elite male discourse.p Rich in new perspective and new scholarship, The Human Tradition in Premodern China is an ideal introduction to Chinese history, East Asian history, and world history.p
 

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Contents

The Royal Consort Fu Hao of the Shang cira 1200 BCE
1
Li Si Chancellor of the Universe
15
Lives and Times of the Political Public at the End of the Han
27
Biography of the Guan Lu
57
Quan Deyu and the Spread of the Elite Culture in Tang China
77
Yue Fei 11031141
93
Liu Chenweng Ways of Being a Local Gentleman in Southern Song and Yuan China
111
Fang Xiaoru Moralistic Politics in the Early Ming
127
The Eunuch Wang Zhen and the Ming Dynasty
143
The Merchant Wang Zhen 14241495
157
Web Sites
165
Index
167
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About the author (2002)

Kenneth J. Hammond is associate professor of history at New Mexico State University.

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