Documentation and Argument in Early China

The Shàngshū 尚書 (Venerated Documents) and the "Shū" Traditions
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-3-11-070841-7
Verlag: De Gruyter

Buch, Englisch, 281 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 230 mm, Gewicht: 557 g

Reihe: ISSN

This study uncovers the traditions behind the formative Classic Shàngshu (Venerated Documents). It is the first to establish these traditions—“Shu” (Documents)—as a historically evolving practice of thought-production. By focusing on the literary form of the argument, it interprets the “Shu” as fluid text material that embodies the ever-changing cultural capital of projected conceptual communities. By showing how these communities actualised the “Shu” according to their changing visions of history and evolving group interests, the study establishes that by the Warring States period (ca. 453–221 BC) the “Shu” had become a literary genre employed by diverse groups to legitimize their own arguments. Through forms of textual performance, the “Shu” gave even peripheral communities the means to participate in political discourse by conferring their ideas with ancient authority. Analysing this dynamic environment of socio-political and philosophical change, this study speaks to the Early China field, as well as to those interested in meaning production and foundational text formation more widely.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Meyer, Dirk

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturen sonstiger Sprachräume Ost- & Südostasiatische Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften

Über Autor(innen)

Dirk Meyer
, The Queen's College, Oxford, UK.

Dirk Meyer, The Queen's College, Oxford, UK.