Wang, "Early Chinese Narrative: TheĪs Example," pp. Plaks, "Towards a Critical Theory of Chinese Narrative," pp. DeWoskin, "The Six DynastiesĪnd the Birth of Fiction," pp. The role of historical writing in more fictional narrative is discussed in several essays included in Andrew H. The Life and Thought of Chang Hsüh-ch'eng (1738-1801) Intellectual issues in history writing are discussed in David Nivison, , Harvard Historical Monographs 11 (Cambridge, Mass., 1961) and Burton Watson, Discussions of the characteristics of Chinese history writing appear in W. The important role of historiography in the elite culture of Imperial China has been a topic of considerable interest to Western scholars. Ying-yai sheng-lan: The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores (1433) For studies of these unusual journeys, which were largely forgotten by the Chinese, see J.J.L. Despite the great commercial potential unlocked by these voyages, such large-scale expeditions were subsequently abandoned when the Ming court realized that China did not face a military threat from the sea. 1380-1460), was poorly preserved over the centuries.
The most detailed account by those who accompanied Cheng Ho, The plays, novels, and accounts that celebrated his exploits had little cultural influence. The secret records of the eunuch-admiral Cheng Ho's seven voyages from 1405 to 1433 were destroyed owing to power struggles between palace eunuchs and Confucian of ficials. ) sea trade with foreigners was of minor importance for the rulers of a largely self-sufficient continental empire. Unlike the English Crown, which was a successful investor in Sir Francis Drake's voyages, the Chinese court mounted its expeditions primarily to demonstrate military power, collect intelligence, and obtain luxury goods for itself through exchange of products under the rubric "tribute for the court" ( 14187 B.C.), the preoccupation of the literate class with maintaining bureaucratic control in the imperial state rather than with developing private capitalist enterprises provided little motivation for engaging in and writing about commercial trading ventures. Although China had long had an active foreign trade, as evidenced by records from as early as the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han (r. In some cases, a text was posthumously inscribed at the site because later readers felt it had become a vital constituent of the meaning of the place.Ģ0. Was written partly from the memory of earlier excursions and also from a painting supplied by the patron who requested a piece to be engraved there celebrating the pavilion he had built. An inscription could even be commissioned from a notable writer some time after his visit. The act of inscription did not necessarily require the engraving of an entire piece often, a flew characters naming the site were sufficient. Bird Terrace ) lyrical (Wind-in-thePines Pavilion, Water's Fragrance Pavilion, Jade Spring ) animal (Tiger Peak, Magpie Mountain, Recumbent Ox Mountain ) and literati (BrushHolder Peak, Ink Pond, Pavilion of the Constellation of Literature ). Terrace, Lotus Peak, Buddha's Light ) historical (Yellow Emperor's Mountain, Shun's Well, Pavilion for Cleansing Ears ) mythological (Black Dragon Pool, Terrace of Heaven , As this anthology demonstrates, the Chinese landscape contains many places that are identically named, the result of applying symbolic terms from various cultural discourses, for example: Toist (Elixir Terrace, Cave of Transcendents, Lao-tzu's Stove ) Buddhist (Mañjusri's On The Road in Twelfth Century China: The Travel Diaries of Fan Chengda (1126-1193)ġ5. 936-939 amore extensive survey of Chinese travel literature up to the Sung appears in Hargett, The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature For a brief definition of "travel record literature" ( During the past few decades, however, studies of more literary works of Chinese travel writing have begun to appear in the West. (Chicago, 1964), similarly focused exclusively on journeys beyond China proper. A more recent anthology, Jeannette Mirsky, ed., , 2d ser., 64 (1933): 1-23, discussed thirty-five figures all of whom traveled to foreign places. Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Wu Lien-teh, in an address titled "Early Chinese Travellers and Their Successors," printed in A study of travel diaries by travelers to territory ruled by non-Chinese dynasties appeared in Édouard Chavannes, "Voyageurs chinois chez les Khitan et les Joutchen,"
0 kommentar(er)
