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“Constant Words Awakening the World (醒世恒言 Xing Shi Heng Yan) is the third of a trilogy of widely celebrated Ming dynasty (1368–1644) vernacular story collections, compiled and edited by Feng Menglong. The first compilation, called Gujin Xiaoshuo (古今小説) (Stories Old and New), which is sometimes also referred to as Yushi Mingyan (喻世明言) (Clear Words to Understand the World) was published in Suzhou in 1620. The second publication was called Jingshi Tongyan (警世通言) (Warnings of the World). These three collections, often referred to as Sanyan (三言, "Three Words") because of the character yan (言) found at the end of each title, each contain 40 stories. Xingshi Hengyan is considered to be a huaben (话本), that is, short novel or novella. The huaben genre has been around since the Song dynasty (960-1279). The huaben genre includes collections of short stories, historical stories, and even stories from Confucian classics.
Shifting Stories explores the tale literature of eighth- and ninth-century China to show how the written tales we have today grew out of a fluid culture of hearsay that circulated within elite society. Sarah M. Allen focuses on two main types of tales, those based in gossip about recognizable public figures and those developed out of lore concerning the occult. She demonstrates how writers borrowed and adapted stories and plots already in circulation and how they transformed them—in some instances into unique and artfully wrought tales. For most readers of that era, tales remained open texts, subject to revision by many hands over the course of transmission, unconstrained by considerations of textual integrity or authorship. Only in the mid- to late-ninth century did some readers and editors come to see the particular wording and authorship of a tale as important, a shift that ultimately led to the formation of the Tang tale canon as it is envisioned today.
With references to the theoretical framework of Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu, this book offers a critical investigation into such epic issues as the end of art and the inherent laws of literature’s evolution, while conflating the two into one major argumentation. The book proceeds from Hegel's claim of "the end of art" to tackle the universal yet essential problem of literature: its legitimacy in a sociological sense. It invests Bourdieu’s sociological terms -- power, capital, habitus, field, etc. into the study of literature and art while taking on other theoretical enquiries, particularly the Marxist exploration into ideology, as well as aspects of economics and communication studies. This book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of the sociology of literature, cultural studies, and those with specific interests in Chinese literature, literary and art theory.
Fuzzy logic is widely used in machine control. The term ‘fuzzy’ refers to the fact that the logic involved can deal with concepts that cannot be expressed as either ‘true’ or ‘false’, but rather as ‘partially true’. Fuzzy set theory is very suitable for modeling the uncertain duration in process simulation, as well as defining the fuzzy goals and fuzzy constraints of decision-making. It has many applications in industry, engineering and social sciences. This book presents the proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Data Mining (FSDM2015), held in Shanghai, China, in December 2015. The application domain covers geography, biology, economics, medic...
Zhang Xuecheng (1738–1801) has primarily been read as a philosopher of history. This volume presents him as an ethical philosopher with a distinctive understanding of the aims and methods of Confucian self-cultivation. Offered in English translation for the first time, this collection of Zhang's essays and letters should challenge our current understanding of this Qing dynasty philosopher. On Ethics and History also contains translations of three important essays written by Tang-dynasty Confucian Han Yu and shows how Zhang responded to Han's earlier works. Those with an interest in ethical philosophy, religion, and Chinese thought and culture will find still relevant much of what Zhang argued for in his own day.
This first and only English translation of Rong Xinjiang’s The Silk Road and Cultural Exchanges Between East and West is a collection of 28 papers on the history of the Silk Road and the interactions among the peoples and cultures of East and Central Asia, including the so-called Western Regions in modern-day Xinjiang. Each paper is a masterly study that combines information obtained from historical records with excavated materials, such as manuscripts, inscriptions and artefacts. The new materials primarily come from north-western China, including sites in the regions of Dunhuang, Turfan, Kucha, and Khotan. The book contains a wealth of original insights into nearly every aspect of the complex history of this region.
The book is the volume of “The History of Literature in Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties” among a series of books of “Deep into China Histories”. The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC) and the Bamboo Annals (296 BC) describe a Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) before the Shang, but no writing is known from the period The Shang ruled in the Yellow River valley, which is commonly held to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. However, Neolithic civilizations originated at various cultural centers along both the Yellow River and Yangtze River. These Yellow River and Yangtze civilizations arose millen...
Using recent archaeological findings and little-known archival material, Wang Zhenping introduces readers to the world of ancient Japan as it was evolving toward a centralized state. Competing Japanese tribal leaders engaged in ambassador diplomacy and actively sought Chinese support and recognition to strengthen their positions at home and to exert military influence on southern Korea. Wang brings diplomatic history to life in his descriptions of the diplomats and their personalities and literary talents as well as their ambitions and frustrations. He explains in detail the rigorous criteria of the Chinese and Japanese courts in the selection of diplomats and how the two prepared for missio...
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.
Here is the first booklength study of the life and works of Wu Yun, one of the most remarkable figures of eighth-century Daoism. Blending literary criticism with religious and cultural history, this book assesses the importance of Wu Yun the Daoist priest, the poet, the anti-Buddhist, the defender of reclusion and the philosopher of immortality, and in doing so, sheds new light on the very nature of Tang dynasty Daoism. The book, which should be of special interest to students of Tang literature and Medieval Daoism alike, alternates narrative and analysis with annotated translations of two thirds of Wu Yun’s remaining writings, including two stela inscriptions, three prose treatises, four rhapsodies and several dozens of poems.