Beacon fire and shooting star : the literary culture of the Liang (502-557) / Xiaofei Tian.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tian, Xiaofei, 1971-

Series:

Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series ; 63.

Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series ; 63

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chinese literature--Northern and Southern dynasties, 386-589--History and criticism.

Chinese literature.

China--Civilization--221 B.C.-960 A.D.

China.

Civilization.

Physical Description:

xi, 473 pages ; 24 cm.

Other Title:

Literary culture of the Liang (502-557)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Published by the Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute : Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2007.

Summary:

The Liang dynasty (502-557) is one of the most brilliant and creative periods in Chinese history and one of the most underestimated and misunderstood. Under the Liang, literary activities, such as writing, editing, anthologizing, and cataloguing, were pursued on an unprecedented scale, yet the works of this era are often dismissed as "decadent" and no more than a shallow prelude to the glories of the Tang. This book is devoted to contextualizing the literary culture of this era--not only the literary works themselves but also the physical process of literary production such as the copying and transmitting of texts; activities such as book collecting, anthologizing, cataloguing, and various forms of literary scholarship; and the intricate interaction of religion, particularly Buddhism, and literature. Its aim is to explore the impact of social and political structure on the literary world.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 429-446) and index.

ISBN:

0674026020

9780674026025

OCLC:

159822019