Literate community in early imperial China : the northwestern frontier in Han times / Charles Sanft.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sanft, Charles, 1972- author.

Series:

SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chinese language--To 600.

Chinese language.

Chinese language--Writing--History.

Chinese language--Writing.

History.

Literacy--China--History.

Literacy.

China.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 252 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : SUNY Press, [2019]

Summary:

"In Literate Community in Early Imperial China, Charles Sanft looks at interactions with text during the Han period and argues that they were more widespread than has been recognized. Archaeologists have excavated a tremendous number of written materials left behind at military installations in the northwestern border regions of China, and scholars have often studied these documents for what they tell us about institutions. But their cultural aspects have received far less attention. Sanft brings an innovative interdisciplinary analytic framework to the study of these documents. He offers a new way to distinguish between reading and writing, which allows for an improved understanding of how text worked in early China, and concentrates on the community rather than the individual. In doing so, he is able to show that a much broader section of early society had meaningful interactions with text. This is a major shift from previous understandings, and makes Literate Community an important contribution to early China studies, the study of literacy, and the global history of non-elites"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Interacting with text in early imperial China and beyond

Contexts and sources

Posted texts

Statements of individuals and groups

Composite texts

Practical texts

Cultural texts

Letters.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-244) and index.

ISBN:

9781438475134

1438475136

OCLC:

1057241639