Library Catalog
Amazon cover image
Image from Amazon.com

Defining Chu : Image and Reality in Ancient China / ed. by John S. Major, Constance A. Cook.

Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, [2004]Copyright date: ©2004Description: 1 online resource (264 p.) : color & b/w illusContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780824818852
  • 9780824862169
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 931 21
LOC classification:
  • DS741.65 .D44 2004
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
  • Issued also in print.
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface: What Does "Defining Chu" Mean? -- Introduction -- Part I: Perspectives in Defining Chu Culture -- 1. The Geography of Chu -- 2. Chu Culture: An Archaeological Overview -- 3. Chu Art: Link between the Old and New -- Part II: State and Society -- 4. Chu Society and State: Image versus Reality -- 5. The Ideology of the Chu Ruling Class: Ritual Rhetoric and Bronze Inscriptions -- 6. Chu Law in Action: Legal Documents from Tomb 2 at Baoshan -- 7. Towns and Trade: Cultural Diversity and Chu Daily Life -- Part III: The Spirit of Chu -- 8. Characteristics of Late Chu Religion -- 9. Monkeys, Shamans, Emperors, and Poets: The Chuci and Images of Chu during the Han Dynasty -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Translation of the Chu Silk Manuscript -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Contributors -- Index
Summary: Scholars agree that the "southern" culture of China, roughly identifiable with the state of Chu during the period between 700 and 200 B.C.E., is of great importance in the subsequent development of Chinese culture. Early Han artists and writers from the first century B.C.E. were encouraged to preserve "exotic" and "barbaric" Chu images and songs as an antidote to the harsh laws of the Qin. This somewhat disparaging view of the Chu has persisted to modern times despite material remains that reveal a culture possessing a level of sophistication equal to (or surpassing) that of contemporary northern (Confucian) civilization. Splendid works of art, excavated in modern Hubei and Henan, along with literary, religious, and historical texts, attest to the complexity and distinctiveness of Chu culture; yet the nature of that distinctiveness and its significance in the history of China have never been adequately addressed. This book, the first in a Western language to attempt such a broad and in-depth analysis of a single Chinese state, traces the evolution of the Chu from a vassal state of Zhou in the Spring and Autumn period to its rise and fall as a great hegemonic kingdom in the Warring States period and its eventual resurgence in the early Han dynasty.Defining Chu begins with an overview of the historical geography, an outline of archaeological evidence for Chu history, and an appreciation of Chu art. Following chapters examine issues of state and society: the ideology of the ruling class, legal procedures, popular culture, and daily life. The final section surveys Chu religion and literature and includes an analysis of the Chuci, the great anthology of Chu poetry, and its impact on mainstream Chinese literature.A translation of the "Chu Silk Manuscript" is appended. This document has intrigued scholars since its discovery in Changsha some sixty years ago. The inclusion of this rare and difficult text, available for the first time in an effective and accessible translation, will make this volume indispensable to students and scholars of early Chinese history and thought.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9780824862169

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface: What Does "Defining Chu" Mean? -- Introduction -- Part I: Perspectives in Defining Chu Culture -- 1. The Geography of Chu -- 2. Chu Culture: An Archaeological Overview -- 3. Chu Art: Link between the Old and New -- Part II: State and Society -- 4. Chu Society and State: Image versus Reality -- 5. The Ideology of the Chu Ruling Class: Ritual Rhetoric and Bronze Inscriptions -- 6. Chu Law in Action: Legal Documents from Tomb 2 at Baoshan -- 7. Towns and Trade: Cultural Diversity and Chu Daily Life -- Part III: The Spirit of Chu -- 8. Characteristics of Late Chu Religion -- 9. Monkeys, Shamans, Emperors, and Poets: The Chuci and Images of Chu during the Han Dynasty -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Translation of the Chu Silk Manuscript -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Contributors -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Scholars agree that the "southern" culture of China, roughly identifiable with the state of Chu during the period between 700 and 200 B.C.E., is of great importance in the subsequent development of Chinese culture. Early Han artists and writers from the first century B.C.E. were encouraged to preserve "exotic" and "barbaric" Chu images and songs as an antidote to the harsh laws of the Qin. This somewhat disparaging view of the Chu has persisted to modern times despite material remains that reveal a culture possessing a level of sophistication equal to (or surpassing) that of contemporary northern (Confucian) civilization. Splendid works of art, excavated in modern Hubei and Henan, along with literary, religious, and historical texts, attest to the complexity and distinctiveness of Chu culture; yet the nature of that distinctiveness and its significance in the history of China have never been adequately addressed. This book, the first in a Western language to attempt such a broad and in-depth analysis of a single Chinese state, traces the evolution of the Chu from a vassal state of Zhou in the Spring and Autumn period to its rise and fall as a great hegemonic kingdom in the Warring States period and its eventual resurgence in the early Han dynasty.Defining Chu begins with an overview of the historical geography, an outline of archaeological evidence for Chu history, and an appreciation of Chu art. Following chapters examine issues of state and society: the ideology of the ruling class, legal procedures, popular culture, and daily life. The final section surveys Chu religion and literature and includes an analysis of the Chuci, the great anthology of Chu poetry, and its impact on mainstream Chinese literature.A translation of the "Chu Silk Manuscript" is appended. This document has intrigued scholars since its discovery in Changsha some sixty years ago. The inclusion of this rare and difficult text, available for the first time in an effective and accessible translation, will make this volume indispensable to students and scholars of early Chinese history and thought.

Issued also in print.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 02. Mrz 2022)