The threshold : the rhetoric of historiography in early medieval China / Zeb Raft.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Raft, Zeb, author.

Series:

Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series ; 136.

Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series ; 136

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shen, Yue, 441-513. Song shu.

Shen, Yue.

Rhetoric--Political aspects--China--History--To 1500.

Rhetoric.

China--History--Liu Song dynasty, 420-479--Historiography.

China.

China--Biography--History and criticism.

Song shu (Shen, Yue).

Biography.

Historiography.

Rhetoric--Political aspects.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 268 pages, 4 unnumbered pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London : Harvard University Asia Center, 2023.

Summary:

"What happens when historiography -- the way historical events are committed to writing -- shapes historical events as they occur? How do we read biography when it is truly "life-writing," its subjects fully engaged with the historiographical rhetoric that would record their words and deeds? 'The Threshold', a study of the culture of historiography in early medieval China, explores these questions through the lens of the 'History of Liu-Song', a dynastic history compiled in 488 and covering the first three-quarters of the fifth century. Rhetoric courses through early medieval historiography : from the way a historian framed history for readers to the political machinations contained within historical narratives, from the active use of rhetorical techniques to the passive effect that embedded discourses exercised on historian, historical actor, and reader alike. Tracing these varied strands of historical argumentation, Zeb Raft shows how history was constructed through rhetorical elements including the narration of officialdom, the anecdote, and, above all, the historical document. The portrait that emerges is of an epideictic historiography where praise was mixed with irony and achievement diluted with ambivalence -- and where the most secure positions lay on the threshold of political power and historical interpretation"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction. The Liu-Song and China in the Southern Dynasties Period ; The historiography of the Liu-Song ; Approaches ; The arguments of this book

Interiority. The "absolute" quality of historiography ; The historical actor and the rhetoric of interiority ; The threat of exteriorization, and defense against it

Exteriority. Role, type, and rhetoric ; The abuse of Liu Muzhi ; The use of Liu Muzhi ; Written into history

An Essay in Officialdom. The grammar of officialdom ; The rhetoric of officialdom

Historiographical Self-Fashioning : The Rhetoric of a Court Debate. Exigence : Wang Hong opens the debate ; Exposition : Speakers One and Two set the terms ; Gentry reasoning ; Speaker Four : A more perfect gentry casuistry ; The Righteous Contrarian ; The Orchestrator returns ; Into the historical frame

The Historical Process. The documentary motive ; Historiography as public and private interest ; The exigence of incompletion

Conclusion. Epideictic history

Appendix. The 'Song shu' biography of Liu Muzhi (360-417).

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674291379

0674291379

OCLC:

1345221753

Publisher Number:

40031657972