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This book traces the evolving uses of writing to command assent and obedience in early China, an evolution that culminated in the establishment of a textual canon as the foundation of imperial authority. Its central theme is the emergence of this body of writings as the textual double of the state, and of the text-based sage as the double of the ruler. The book examines the full range of writings employed in early China, such as divinatory records, written communications with ancestors, government documents, the collective writings of philosophical and textual traditions, speeches attributed to historical figures, chronicles, verse anthologies, commentaries, and encyclopedic compendia. Lewis shows how these writings served to administer populations, control officials, form new social groups, invent new models of authority, and create an artificial language whose master generated power and whose graphs became potent objects.
Ideology of Power and Power of Ideology in Early China explores ancient Chinese political thought during the centuries surrounding the formation of the empire in 221 BCE. The individual chapters examine the ideology and practices of legitimation, views of rulership, conceptualizations of ruler-minister relations, economic thought, and the bureaucratic administration of commoners. The contributors analyze the formation of power relations from various angles, ranging from artistic expression to religious ideas, political rhetoric, and administrative action. They demonstrate the interrelatedness of historiography and political ideology and show how the same text served both to strengthen the ruler’s authority and moderate his excesses. Together, the chapters highlight the immense complexity of ancient Chinese political thought, and the deep tensions running within it. Contributors include Scott Cook, Joachim Gentz, Paul R. Goldin, Romain Graziani, Martin Kern, Liu Zehua, Luo Xinhui, Yuri Pines, Roel Sterckx, and Charles Sanft.
As the Chinese economy develops, academic libraries continue to evolve and provide indispensable services for their users. Throughout this growth, the scientific and cultural dialogue between China and the United States has made it necessary for each country’s libraries to understand each other. Academic libraries often act as catalysts for progress and innovation; proper management and applications of these resources is key to promote further research. Academic Library Development and Administration in China provides a resource to promote Sino-U.S. communication and collaboration between their academic libraries. In considering the relationship between China and the West, this publication serves as a timely reflection on the expanding global field of information science. This publication is intended for librarians, researchers, university administrators, and information scientists in both the U.S. and China.
As the second volume of a two-volume seminal work on contemporary New Confucianism in China, this book focuses on six leading thinkers of this intellectual movement in the 20th century. Contemporary New Confucianism refers to the Confucianism or Confucian thought that has emerged in China since the 1920s, which aims to revive the spirituality of Confucianism in a changing society. This volume introduces the philosophical thought of Zhang Junmai, Feng Youlan, He Lin, Fang Dongmei, Tang Junyi, and Mou Zongsan, including Zhang's political philosophy and comparative philosophy, Feng's transformation of Chinese philosophy, He's idea of culture and "spirit-only idealism," Fang's comparative philosophy, Tang's idea of moral self and theory of human spiritual realms, and Mou's new ontology for Confucianism. It analyzes their divergences and the contemporary relevance of their thought in terms of revisiting and transforming traditional Chinese philosophy and reconciling Chinese and Western traditions. This title will appeal to scholars and students of modern and contemporary Confucianism, intellectual history, philosophy and thought of contemporary China, and comparative philosophy.
The rise of China, along with problems of governance in democratic countries, has reinvigorated the theory of political meritocracy. But what is the theory of political meritocracy and how can it set standards for evaluating political progress (and regress)? To help answer these questions, this volume gathers a series of commissioned research papers from an interdisciplinary group of leading philosophers, historians and social scientists. The result is the first book in decades to examine the rise (or revival) of political meritocracy and what it will mean for political developments in China and the rest of the world. Despite its limitations, meritocracy has contributed much to human flourishing in East Asia and beyond and will continue to do so in the future. This book is essential reading for those who wish to further the debate and perhaps even help to implement desirable forms of political change.
The Class of 1761 reveals the workings of China's imperial examination system from the unique perspective of a single graduating class. The author follows the students' struggles in negotiating the examination system along with bureaucratic intrigue and intellectual conflict, as well as their careers across the Empire—to the battlefields of imperial expansion in Annam and Tibet, the archives where the glories of the empire were compiled, and back to the chambers where they in turn became examiners for the next generation of aspirants. The book explores the rigors and flexibilities of the examination system as it disciplined men for political life and shows how the system legitimated both the Manchu throne and the majority non-Manchu elite. In the system's intricately articulated networks, we discern the stability of the Qing empire and the fault lines that would grow to destabilize it.
This set of six volumes provides a systematic and standardized description of 23,033 chemical components isolated from 6,926 medicinal plants, collected from 5,535 books/articles published in Chinese and international journals. A chemical structure with stereo-chemistry bonds is provided for each chemical component, in addition to conventional information, such as Chinese and English names, physical and chemical properties. It includes a name list of medicinal plants from which the chemical component was isolated. Furthermore, abundant pharmacological data for nearly 8,000 chemical components are presented, including experimental method, experimental animal, cell type, quantitative data, as well as control compound data. The seven indexes allow for complete cross-indexing. Regardless whether one searches for the molecular formula of a compound, the pharmacological activity of a compound, or the English name of a plant, the information in the book can be retrieved in multiple ways.
Focusing on the ancient, medieval, and early-modern eras, this collection considers the beginnings of Sino-Japanese Relations in the Ancient East Asian World, focusing on changes of the East Asian international system. It examines the establishment of the East Asian International Order in the 7th Century and the advance of Sino- Japanese relations in medieval times. It also considers the impact of initial contact with modern Western powers on modernization, and examines the points of rupture which deeply affected both cultures, for China the Opium War, and for Japan it the Black Ships of Commodore Matthew Perry and the Meiji Restoration. Based on research conducted jointly by Chinese and Japanese scholars, this collection provides a unique insight into the development of Chinese and Japanese culture from comparative perspectives, offering an in-depth study of the countries’ political, religious and societal structures to deepen objective perception toward history and promote mutual understanding in East Asia.
The Chinese insurance market is expanding enormously as risk adversity takes hold in the economy while the role of the State as guarantor of commerce is gradually reduced. In addition, insurance is a heavily regulated field with detailed contract law stipulations. An introduction to regulation and contract law and an understanding of current issues is essential for someone seeking to do business in the Chinese market. Insurance law is also a field that translates well from one jurisdiction to another, and academics will be interested in understanding how issues are dealt with in another jurisdiction. The book seeks to present and discuss current topics in Chinese insurance law and regulation to an English-speaking audience knowledgeable of common law insurance law and international insurance business. The combined effect of the papers is to present Chinese insurance law to an audience unfamiliar with Chinese law, in a readable and accessible essay chapter format. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field and goes beyond a basic introduction to provide in depth well-researched information and academic analysis on the topic in question.