Memories of Kings of Israel and Judah within the Mnemonic Landscape of the Literati of the Late Persian/Early Hellenistic Period: Exploratory Considerations

This article explores, from a perspective informed by Social Memory studies, memories of kings of Judah (/Israel) in three different corpora (the Deuteronomistic Historical Collection, the Prophetic Book Collection and Chronicles). It draws attention to the interdependence between memories of kings and other characters populating the world of memory evoked by each of these corpora and explores the ways in which the worlds of memory evoked by each of them interacted, informed and balanced each other within what we may call the “comprehensive mnemonic system” of the literati. The article sheds light on generative grammars governing systems of preferences and dis-preferences for certain types of memories of kings in each of the corpora and across them, and at times, even across cultures, and highlights that the world of memory of the Yehudite literati of the late Persian/early Hellenistic period was shaped by a consistency of inconsistency, and an overall coherence manifested through a seeming lack thereof that served well the social reproduction of the group.     

论东汉中后期士人的群体心理

东汉中后期七人群体的形成是儒家经学的极盛这一特定历史时代的产物,是东汉中后期一个重要的社会群体。这一群体的成员通过心理和感情的交流,形成自己的群体心理,产生了心理相容、群体规范、群体凝聚、类化趋向等群体心理现象。它是我们研究东汉中后期社会状况与历史变迁的一个新的角度和方法。     

略论金代山西文人与地域文学的发展及原因

金代山西地域文学的发展历程可分为三个阶段:一是从金太祖到海陵王迁都之前(1115-1153),是金代山西地域文学的复苏期。二是海陵王迁都之后到章宗朝(1153-1209),是金代山西文学的发展期。三是从卫绍王到金亡(1209-1234),是金代山西文学的繁荣期。金代山西地域文学在金末迎来鼎盛局面主要有三方面的因素:一是中原文化重心的北移;二是"壬辰北渡"时期山西士人的回归;三是金末山西文人的忠国意识与使命感。     

Van Gulik's The Lore of the Chinese Lute Revisited*

In this article I propose a critical examination of van Gulik's The Lore of the Chinese Lute (LCL) in respect to its bibliographical sources and consequent aesthetic contentions. Despite being arguably the first academic monograph on the ideology of qin and historically a major non-Chinese source for the study of qin in general, the LCL does not represent van Gulik's mature thinking on qin. The LCL is limited by objective circumstances surrounding its writing and flaws in van Gulik's bibliographical engagement. His study of the musicology of Yueji on the basis of inaccurate translation and a neglect of the Neo-Confucian reading of Yueji, his hypothesis of Daoist dominance and Buddhist or Indian influence in the practice of qin with mistaken evidence, his skepticism of the truth of the literati tradition with fundamental bibliographical flaws, all require reconsideration. The current lacuna in the critical investigation of the LCL not only urges contemporary researchers to continue where van Gulik left off, but also calls for new research projects on qin and Chinese literati music in general.     

The Discourse of Fengsu in the Song Literati’s Writing: The Example of Boat Racing

The category of “customs,” or fengsu, was important for the literati of the Song dynasty in writing local histories. It covers local practices of festival rituals, weddings and funerals, rites for passage into adulthood, sacrificial rites, and the like. The main purpose behind the literati’s efforts to record fengsu was not to acknowledge local variations but to censor local customs and transform society. This paper looks at these type of texts as a discourse that is meant to promote the correct, standard performance of rites and suppress those deemed improper. It uses boat racing in Song records of fengsu as a case study to illustrate how the imperial spectacle of boat racing in spring was propagated and how the linkage between the death anniversary of Qu Yuan and Duanwu were reinforced. Meanwhile, the popular ritual of boat racing during the summer, which bore distinct violent and shamanic attributes, was strongly criticised. Through these efforts by the literati, a normative discourse of the boat-racing ritual was repeated and reinforced in the fengsu recording.     

A Recipe Book for Culture Consumers: Yuan Mei and Suiyuan shidan

This article is a study of the writings on food, cooking, and dining by the eighteenth-century poet, essayist, and gourmet Yuan Mei (1716–98) as found in his recipe book Suiyuan shidan. Starting with an overview of the organization and content of Suiyuan shidan, the article offers an analysis of Yuan Mei’s cultural attitudes reflected there and in his works in other genres. The value underlying Suiyuan shidan exemplifies Yuan’s personal response to the Chinese intellectual environment at the end of the eighteenth century. Building a connection between the recipe book and Yuan Mei’s controversial reputation in the literati community, the article explores the changing meaning of culture in eighteenth-century China and Yuan’s way of surviving the intense competition for voice and influence among the cultural elites of the time.     

The Revival of zhiguai 志怪 Storywriting in the Qing Dynasty: In Search for Its Reasons

After having enjoyed its heyday during the Six Dynasties, the zhiguai genre gradually declined in popularity in the realm of Chinese literature. Although some famous zhiguai collections were published in later dynasties, they merely belonged to the marginal literary stream. However, the zhiguai writing reached two obvious pinnacles in the Qing dynasty: The first took place at the end of the 18th century and the second in the last quarter of the 19th century. These pinnacles can be defined as the “revival of zhiguai.” Some scholars only have unilaterally discussed this issue. This article will, by examining some zhiguai collections that have not yet received much attention from previous scholars, examine the reasons why the zhiguai writing revived in the Qing dynasty and how the frustrated literati consequently led the zhiguai to flourish.     

叙述与记忆：朝鲜半岛文人的徐福东来记事研究

徐福东渡一直在中日韩三国广为流传。朝鲜半岛人民对徐福东来的叙述与记忆,依其本土文献记载至少可回溯至新罗时期。关于徐福的传说、民谣至今仍在朝鲜半岛南部区域广泛流传,或称“徐市过之”的摩崖石刻痕迹也保留至今。无论是充满想象的叙述,还是遗址遗物中的记忆,都深层次反映了汉字文化圈内独有的文化现象与逻辑。通过对朝鲜半岛文人“徐福东来”记事叙述与朝鲜半岛民间记忆——传说、民谣等资料的研究,勾勒出徐福一行在朝鲜半岛的可能行迹,并进一步揭示徐福研究的当代文化学意义。     

中国古代钱币诗话

古钱币系列是中国历史经济现象的载体,亦是承载时代进程的脉络与脚印。其见证了不同时期因政权更替的兴盛与衰败。在华夏古代文学宝库里,有关货币的诗话占有独特的重要地位。