Documentation and Argument in Early China : The Shàngshū 尚書 (Venerated Documents) and the Shū Traditions / Dirk Meyer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Meyer, Dirk, Author.

Contributor:

Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology, Funder.

Series:

Library of Sinology [LOS]

Library of Sinology ; 5

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (X, 281 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter Mouton, [2021]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

This study uncovers the traditions behind the formative Classic Shàngshū (Venerated Documents). It is the first to establish these traditions-"Shū" (Documents)-as a historically evolving practice of thought-production. By focusing on the literary form of the argument, it interprets the "Shū" as fluid text material that embodies the ever-changing cultural capital of projected conceptual communities. By showing how these communities actualised the "Shū" 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 "Shū" had become a literary genre employed by diverse groups to legitimize their own arguments. Through forms of textual performance, the "Shū" 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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Acknowledgements

Contents

Introduction

1 Shū traditions and philosophical discourse

2 Archiving cultural capital

3 The materiality of meaning networks

4 Moulds of discourse

5 Shū traditions in narrative

6 Shū genre in manuscript cultures

7 Conclusion: the Shū and political argument in early China

Bibliorgraph

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

This eBook is made available Open Access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://www.degruyter.com/dg/page/open-access-policy

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 21. Jun 2021)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9783110708530

3110708531

OCLC:

1257324891

Access Restriction:

Open access Unrestricted online access