This article traces the history of baojuan(scroll recitation)performances in Shanghai in the period 1875-1915.Scroll recitation is a type of ritualized storytelling that originated in Buddhist preaching,but that also ...This article traces the history of baojuan(scroll recitation)performances in Shanghai in the period 1875-1915.Scroll recitation is a type of ritualized storytelling that originated in Buddhist preaching,but that also included secular subjects in the later period.This study demonstrates how a traditional performative art was integrated into the cultural environment of a developing cosmopolitan city at the end of the nineteenth century,and how it was transformed for the new demands of urban audiences in the early twentieth century.This study analyzes the process of secularization of scroll recitation through the growth of entertaining aspects of its contents and performance style in Shanghai.It makes use of newly discovered historical materials,including newspapers and periodicals of that period,which help to clarify many details of this art's evolution in the modern city.展开更多
This lecture is concerned with some historical issues of ＂China,＂ ＂territory, culture＂ and ＂identity＂ that are placed against the background of politics, culture and scholarship in contemporary China. I want to ...This lecture is concerned with some historical issues of ＂China,＂ ＂territory, culture＂ and ＂identity＂ that are placed against the background of politics, culture and scholarship in contemporary China. I want to draw attention to the question of how historians understand and interpret ＂China.＂ It addresses the following questions. First, where did the idea of ＂China＂ come from？ and how did it become a topic of scholarly research？ What kind of dilemmas does ＂China＂ confront in its current condition and historical interpretation？ Second, how do various new historical theories and methods in international academic circles enrich our understanding of ＂China＂？ Third, how does China＇s history and reality challenge the theories of ＂empire＂ and ＂nation-state＂？ Fourth, is it possible to write ＂East Asian history＂？ Does ＂national history＂ prove still effective in describing China or East Asia？展开更多
This paper is a synthetic piece based on my attempts to address the significance and importance of Confucian humanism as a spiritual resource for human self-understanding in the 21st century. The relevance of Confucia...This paper is a synthetic piece based on my attempts to address the significance and importance of Confucian humanism as a spiritual resource for human self-understanding in the 21st century. The relevance of Confucian spirituality to ecological civilization is self-evident, but the Confucian revival in Cultural China is predicated on its ability to transcend instrumental rationality, the Faustian drive to dominate, anthropocentrism, and China-centered mentality. The enabling power that helps an open, pluralistic and self-reflexive cultural identity to emerge will be greatly enhanced if China takes India as an essential reference society.展开更多
Paying attention to the research of Daniel Hanbury(1825--75),whose scientific practice revolved around names,languages and their translations of Chinese materia medica,this article discusses the centrality of names de...Paying attention to the research of Daniel Hanbury(1825--75),whose scientific practice revolved around names,languages and their translations of Chinese materia medica,this article discusses the centrality of names development of drug knowledge in nineteenth-century Britain.Along with the collection of material specimens,names both in transliteration and in Chinese characters were gathered locally through correspondence networks.On the other hand,names within older texts that had hitherto remained disparate were reclaimed by the nineteenth-century effort to consult and collate earlier accounts of each item.As such,the collection,identification and translation of names constituted an integral part of the process of making Chinese materia medica recognizable within a new system of universal scientific knowledge.Hanbury's extensive efforts collating and streamlining numerous names demonstrates that the early makings of scientific drug knowledge relied heavily upon a series of textual practices and peculiar modes of knowledge brokerage that straddled distant points of time and space.展开更多
Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty celebrated his eightieth birthday in 1790, for which Vietnam, Korea, the Ryukyu Islands, Burma, and Mongolia sent delegates to the imperial summer resort at Chengde 承德 to pay hom...Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty celebrated his eightieth birthday in 1790, for which Vietnam, Korea, the Ryukyu Islands, Burma, and Mongolia sent delegates to the imperial summer resort at Chengde 承德 to pay homage. Curiously, the Annamese （or, Vietnamese） king NguygnQuangB]nh （阮光平）, who had just defeated the Qing army, offered to appear in Qing costume and kowtow to the Qing emperor. The unusual act pleased Emperor Qianlong and infuriated the Korean delegates. What did costume and ceremonial mean in the context of the East Asian political and cultural order？ Why did the British embassy to China led by Lord Macartney three years later cause friction with regards to sartorial and ceremonial manners？ This lecture will address these questions.展开更多
基金国家社会科学基金重大目“太湖流域民间信仰类文艺资泷的调童和跨学科硏突”(批准号17ZDA167)阶段性成果之一The author also expresses his gratitude to Yu Dingjun,Zhang Minwei,Hu Xiaochen,and Dou Heng for providing materials and assistance during fieldtrips,as well as to four anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and to Paula Roberts for fixing many language problems.
文摘This article traces the history of baojuan(scroll recitation)performances in Shanghai in the period 1875-1915.Scroll recitation is a type of ritualized storytelling that originated in Buddhist preaching,but that also included secular subjects in the later period.This study demonstrates how a traditional performative art was integrated into the cultural environment of a developing cosmopolitan city at the end of the nineteenth century,and how it was transformed for the new demands of urban audiences in the early twentieth century.This study analyzes the process of secularization of scroll recitation through the growth of entertaining aspects of its contents and performance style in Shanghai.It makes use of newly discovered historical materials,including newspapers and periodicals of that period,which help to clarify many details of this art's evolution in the modern city.
文摘This lecture is concerned with some historical issues of ＂China,＂ ＂territory, culture＂ and ＂identity＂ that are placed against the background of politics, culture and scholarship in contemporary China. I want to draw attention to the question of how historians understand and interpret ＂China.＂ It addresses the following questions. First, where did the idea of ＂China＂ come from？ and how did it become a topic of scholarly research？ What kind of dilemmas does ＂China＂ confront in its current condition and historical interpretation？ Second, how do various new historical theories and methods in international academic circles enrich our understanding of ＂China＂？ Third, how does China＇s history and reality challenge the theories of ＂empire＂ and ＂nation-state＂？ Fourth, is it possible to write ＂East Asian history＂？ Does ＂national history＂ prove still effective in describing China or East Asia？
文摘This paper is a synthetic piece based on my attempts to address the significance and importance of Confucian humanism as a spiritual resource for human self-understanding in the 21st century. The relevance of Confucian spirituality to ecological civilization is self-evident, but the Confucian revival in Cultural China is predicated on its ability to transcend instrumental rationality, the Faustian drive to dominate, anthropocentrism, and China-centered mentality. The enabling power that helps an open, pluralistic and self-reflexive cultural identity to emerge will be greatly enhanced if China takes India as an essential reference society.
文摘Paying attention to the research of Daniel Hanbury(1825--75),whose scientific practice revolved around names,languages and their translations of Chinese materia medica,this article discusses the centrality of names development of drug knowledge in nineteenth-century Britain.Along with the collection of material specimens,names both in transliteration and in Chinese characters were gathered locally through correspondence networks.On the other hand,names within older texts that had hitherto remained disparate were reclaimed by the nineteenth-century effort to consult and collate earlier accounts of each item.As such,the collection,identification and translation of names constituted an integral part of the process of making Chinese materia medica recognizable within a new system of universal scientific knowledge.Hanbury's extensive efforts collating and streamlining numerous names demonstrates that the early makings of scientific drug knowledge relied heavily upon a series of textual practices and peculiar modes of knowledge brokerage that straddled distant points of time and space.
文摘Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty celebrated his eightieth birthday in 1790, for which Vietnam, Korea, the Ryukyu Islands, Burma, and Mongolia sent delegates to the imperial summer resort at Chengde 承德 to pay homage. Curiously, the Annamese （or, Vietnamese） king NguygnQuangB]nh （阮光平）, who had just defeated the Qing army, offered to appear in Qing costume and kowtow to the Qing emperor. The unusual act pleased Emperor Qianlong and infuriated the Korean delegates. What did costume and ceremonial mean in the context of the East Asian political and cultural order？ Why did the British embassy to China led by Lord Macartney three years later cause friction with regards to sartorial and ceremonial manners？ This lecture will address these questions.
