Dubious facts : the evidence of early Chinese historiography / Garret P.S. Olberding.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Olberding, Garret P. S.

Series:

SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History.

Historiography.

China--History--To 221 B.C--Historiography.

China.

Physical Description:

x, 278 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2012]

Summary:

What were the intentions of early China's historians? Modern readers must content with the tension between the narrator's moralizing commentary and their description of events. Although these historians had notions of evidence, it is not clear to what extent they valued what contemporary scholars would deem "hard" facts. Offering an innovative approach to premodern historical documents, Garret P. S. Olberding argues that the speeches of court advisors reveal subtle strategies of information management in the early monarchic context. Olberding focuses on those addresses concerning military campaigns where evidence would be important in guiding immediate social and political policy. His analysis reveals the sophisticated conventions that governed the imperial advisor's logic and suasion in critical state discussions, which were specifically intended to counter anticipated doubts. Dubious Facts illuminates both the decision-making processes that informed early Chinese military campaigns and the historical records that represent them. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 The Subversive Power of the Historian 13

Chapter 3 Politicized Truth and Doubt 21

Chapter 4 Interactive Constraints at Court 39

Chapter 5 Salient Formal Characteristics of the Addresses 47

Chapter 6 Rhetoric in Opposition: Two Zhanguoce $Addresses 71

Chapter 7 Commitment to the Facts 99

Chapter 8 Moral Normas as Facts: Arguing before the Emperor 111

Chapter 9 How Did Ministers Err? 137

Chapter 10 A Diversity of Evidence 155.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781438443898

1438443897

OCLC:

768417886