Margins
Sinica Leidensia book cover 1
Sinica Leidensia book cover 2
Sinica Leidensia book cover 3
Sinica Leidensia
Series · 79
books · 1973-2022

Books in series

The Buddhist Conquest of China book cover
#11

The Buddhist Conquest of China

1973

"The reprinting in 2007 of a book originally produced nearly fifty years earlier (and based on a doctoral dissertation begun in the early 1950s) is not merely a publishing event. It constitutes a milestone in the academic study of early Chinese Buddhism that shows at once both how far the field has progressed in the past half-century as well as how fundamental the book remains." (From the new Introduction.) At the repeated request of many scholars and students here is a new edition of E. Zurcher's groundbreaking "The Buddhist Conquest of China," In his extensive introduction Stephen F. Teiser (D.T. Suzuki Professor in Buddhist Studies, Princeton University) explains why the book is still the standard in the field of early Chinese Buddhism. The introduction, newly written for this edition, analyzes the development of the field from the 1950s to the present. This edition is also updated by utilizing Pinyin (rather than the Wade-Giles system of the first two editions) for the transcription of Chinese and by including a thorough bibliography of E. Zurcher's more recent work.
Chinese Vernacular Fiction book cover
#13

Chinese Vernacular Fiction

The Formative Period

1974

Chinese Vernacular The Formative Period Chinese Vernacular The Formative Period
Leyden Studies in Sinology book cover
#15

Leyden Studies in Sinology

Papers Presented at the Conference Held in Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Sinological Institute of Leyden University, December 8-12, 1980

1981

Idema, Wilt
The Dramatic Ceuvre of Chu Yu-Tun 1379-1439 book cover
#16

The Dramatic Ceuvre of Chu Yu-Tun 1379-1439

1985

Remnants of Ch'in Law book cover
#17

Remnants of Ch'in Law

An Annotated Translation of the Ch'in Legal and Administrative Rules of the 3rd Century B.C. Discovered in Yun-Meng Prefecture, Hu-Pei Province, in

1985

Remnants of Ch'in An Annotated Translation of the Ch'in Legal and Administrative Rules of the 3rd Century B.C. Discove
The Care-Taker Emperor book cover
#18

The Care-Taker Emperor

Aspects of the Imperial Institution in Fifteenth-Century China as Reflected in the Political History of the Reign of Chu Chi'i-Yü

1986

Hard to Find book
Yang Tingyun, Confucian and Christian in Late Ming China book cover
#19

Yang Tingyun, Confucian and Christian in Late Ming China

His Life and Thought

1987

Book by Standaert, N.
Change and Continuity in Chinese Local History book cover
#20

Change and Continuity in Chinese Local History

The Development of Hui-Chou Prefecture 800 to 1800

1990

This book examines one of the most important problems concerning Chinese civilization - how was the pattern of stability and continuity of Chinese society and economy achieved and maintained from approximately 800 to 1800. It uses the results of detailed, specialized research about the Chinese landholding system, marketing patterns, the role of the extended family therein, taxation and non-elite social groups in one specific locale to answer questions that historians of any civilization ask about the structure and functioning of a given society. The author has investigated the development of the Hui-chou community over a 1,000 year period by concentrating on six grand questions, each answered by one chapter. The answers to these questions, as given in this work, show that 'stability' is a dynamic concept. 'Continuity' in Hui- chou is the result of the 'changes' in population growth, commercialization, and class differentiation acting in concert over the long term.
The Treatises of Later Han book cover
#21

The Treatises of Later Han

Their Author, Sources, Contents and Place in Chinese Historiography

1990

The official history of the Later Han dynasty (AD 25-220) contains eight so-called Treatises, traditionally regarded as accurate descriptions of the dynasty's institutions. Practically all literature dealing with the bureaucratic system, the geography, the religious beliefs or the calendar of the first two centuries AD is based on these Treatises, even though their value as source material has never been critically examined. This study subjects each of the Treatises in turn to a detailed scrutiny. The sources used by the Chinese historian and their adaption to suit his historiographical tastes, the opinions of previous critics and the weight of the available evidence all pass review in order to arrive at a balanced view of the historiographical value of each individual Treatise.
Development and Decline of Fukien Province in the 17th and 18th Centuries book cover
#22

Development and Decline of Fukien Province in the 17th and 18th Centuries

1990

The history of China's Southeast coast has unusual features. For many centuries, overseas trade and migration, internal and external warfare, strong religious beliefs and receptiveness to foreign influences characterized this society of fiercely independent traders, fishermen and mountain farmers. The protracted struggle of Cheng Ch'eng- kung and the Southern Ming against the Ch'ing dynasty precipitated Fukien into a crisis, from which many chose to escape by emigration to the Philippines and Taiwan. Recovery was slow.; The fourteen Western and Chinese contributors to this study focus on internal economic and social developments, overseas and religious change. From the rich Chinese and European source materials, a picture emerges of great regional diversity. Local interests and values were confronted by the central government's orthodox rule, and Western influences of Jesuits and traders. The Fukienese reaction to them produces fascinating insights into Chinese society, and a truly local history which may qualify our ideas on the Chinese Empire. REA sinologists, social and economic historians.
Thought and law in Qin and Han China book cover
#24

Thought and law in Qin and Han China

Studies dedicated to Anthony Hulsewé on the occasion of his eightieth birthday

1990

This volume brings together a number of important studies by leading scholars on various aspects of intellectual and institutional developments during the early Chinese empire. The subjects treated cover law and ritual (J.L. Kroll, Jacques Gernet, Léon Vandermeersch and M.J. Meijer), philosophy and religion (Derk Bodde, U. Libbrecht, Robert P. Kramers and E. Zürcher) and literature and entertainments (David Knechtges and Michael Loewe). Some contributions deal with aspects of the Han legacy to later Chinese culture (W.L. Idema and Harriet T. Zurndorfer). These studies are preceded by a biography and bibliography (Ph. de Heer) of Anthony F.P. Hulsewé in honour of whose eightieth birthday this Festschrift was compiled.
Murder and Adultery in Late Imperial China book cover
#25

Murder and Adultery in Late Imperial China

A Study of Law and Morality

1991

In this publication the development is traced of two sections of the chapter on "Homicide" of the penal code of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), Murder and Homicide of an Adulterer. The former deals with premeditated homicide where there is no difference in status, social or family relations between murderer and victim, while in the latter we find the husband who kills his wife and her paramour when caught in the act. In that case, the husband was immune from prosecution, provided that he commited the act at the time and at the site. The first section developed in a clear and intelligent way, with in general some logical provisions being added from the beginning till the end of the dynasty. The second section, however, was enriched by 34 additional articles through legislation and judicial practice, which with a view to promoting moral purity in society, gradually circumvented the original restrictions to the husband's fury. Consequently, by accentuating the husband's important status and for the sake of maintaining the established hierarchy in society, that section changed into a bad and cruel part of the law, turning the husband's behaviour from an excusable exception into morally justified conduct, and likewise the woman's misbehaviour into a mortal sin. This has all been confirmed by the motivation of the legislation and sentences of the cases.
The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religions History book cover
#26

The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religions History

1997

This book provides a new hypothesis for understanding the real nature of the term White Lotus Teachings. The author argues that there are actually two different phenomena covered by similar terms: from c. 1130 until 1400, a real lay Buddhist movement existed, which can be called the White Lotus movement. It enjoyed the respect of contemporary literari and religious elites. The movement used the autonym White Lotus Society, which came to be prohibited in the early Ming and was discarded as a result. After 1525, the name reappeared in the form White Lotus Teachings, but now only as a derogatory label, used by officials and literati rather than by believers themselves. As a result of this hypothesis, the history of the "White Lotus Teachings" changes from one of religious groups and magicians into one of elite ideology and religious persecution. The book is therefore important both for historians and anthropologists of Chinese religion and society, and for comparative historians interested in the ideological and social construction of "heterodoxy."
Salt Production Techniques in Ancient China book cover
#27

Salt Production Techniques in Ancient China

The Aobo Tu

1992

The Aobo tu, the 'Illustrated Boiling of Sea Water', was completed and published by Chen Chun in 1334. It is the world's earliest extant work exclusively dealing with salt production and salt production techniques. The first part of this book focuses on the technical, fiscal, administrative, social and economic background of the Aobo tu. It also provides the reader with information on the various editions and related material. This is followed by a complete annotated translation and the reproduction of two different sets of illustrations. By combining research on various aspects of the salt industry during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) periods, a better understanding of the fiscal and economic importance of this crucial sector can be gained.
Norms and the State in China book cover
#28

Norms and the State in China

1993

The central theme of this volume is the Chinese concept of chiao-hua, "Transformation by Instruction": the ancient idea that moral guidance in all spheres of life is one of the most essential tasks of leadership at all levels, from the central government down to local elites. Within this general perspective nineteen scholars of various disciplinary backgrounds have treated topics ranging from the regulation of conspicuous consumption in Ming times to ritualization of protest in recent times. In many cases a surprising degree of cultural continuity can be observed; on the other hand, due attention has also been paid to clashes between traditional Chinese (notably Confucian) norms and the demands of modernization in contemporary Chinese society.
Conflict and Accommodation in Early Modern East Asia book cover
#29

Conflict and Accommodation in Early Modern East Asia

Essays in Honour of Erik Zürcher

1993

This collection of essays written by his former students and colleagues represent the many foci of interest that Erik Zurcher has shared with them during his tenure as professor at Leiden University. They include discussions of Confucian philosophy, Buddhist and Christian polemics, the spread of Jesuit literature and anti-Christian attitudes among the literati, Ming aphorisms, the Chinese pictorial of skulls and skeletons, the Ch'ien-lung Emperor's eightieth birthday celebrations, Sino-Korean relations, and the "little traditions" in Chinese historical development, secret societies and kongsi. The book demonstrates how Zurcher inspired a wide range of interests in problems of Chinese history from heterodoxy, to local development, to hsiao-shuo traditions, but always in the highest traditions of philological scholarship."
Madhyamaka Thought in China book cover
#30

Madhyamaka Thought in China

1994

The history of the Madhyamaka, one of the two main Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophical traditions, began around the second century A.D. with the appearance of the writings of Nāgārjuna and Nāgārjuna's followers. Several of these writings were transmitted to China in the first decade of the fifth century, and had exerted a considerable influence on the development of Chinese Buddhist thought. This book examines the three stages of development of Chinese Madhyamaka, focussing attention on the different ways the representative figures of each stage applied basic Madhyamaka principles to deal with the central Buddhist doctrinal issues of their age. The chief aim of this book is to locate an ideological nucleus and to trace a general pattern of transformation, referring to which the precise significance of the key theoretical elements and the exact relationship between the main doctrinal aspects of a broad Buddhist intellectual trend can be clearly demonstrated and accurately defined.
Clause Combination in Chinese book cover
#32

Clause Combination in Chinese

1994

Clause Combination in Chinese is an abundantly documented study of composite sentences in Modern Chinese, their semantic properties and syntactic behaviour. It discusses the extent of language variation, the relation between synchrony and diachrony, the nature of grammaticalization, generality and gradience, and the non-uniqueness of syntactic analysis. The first part provides a new categorization of clause combinations and clause connectives. It introduces a class of connectives often combining units larger than the sentence. It also discusses the frequent non-use of clause connectives in Chinese composite sentences. The second part contains case studies of composite sentences with unusual semantic properties, among them a hitherto unrecognized pattern with no English counterpart: adverbial clauses expressing necessity. The book should be of interest to all students of Chinese linguistics and to general linguists concerned with sentence complexity.
Time and Space in Chinese Culture book cover
#33

Time and Space in Chinese Culture

1997

All cultures and times have their own notions of time and space. Being one of the fundamental ideas in every society they influence virtually every aspect of society. In this book the authors explain the notions of time and space in China, how culturally concrete and particularly Chinese they are and how significant such Chinese cultural-ness of these notions is. Seventeen scholars of various disciplinary backgrounds have treated topics within this general perspective in a comprehensive way.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Early Ming Legislation book cover
#34

Zhu Yuanzhang and Early Ming Legislation

The Reordering of Chinese Society Following the Era of Mongol Rule

1995

This volume deals with the social legislation of Zhu Yuanzhang, who founded the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), following the era of Mongol rule in China. It recounts the circumstances under which the laws were enacted and what the Emperor claimed he was trying to accomplish - a restoration of traditional Chinese social norms. The contents of several codes are discussed in terms of the groups to which they applied and the range of activities they purported to regulate. The early Ming codes formed one of the most comprehensive and cohesive bodies of law in all of Chinese history. Taken as a group, they constituted an autocrate's blueprint for the ideal society. The texts of three codifications - an imperial clan constitution, a general summary of the laws, and guidelines for village life - are translated as appendixes.
#35

K'ung-ts'ung-tzu

A Study and Translation of Chapters 15-23 with a Reconstruction of the “Hsiao Erh-ya” Dictionary

1995

The K'ung-ts'ung-tzu (The K'ung Family Masters Anthology) is a collection of writings, most of them discourses, that narrate the lives and scholarly activities of one lineage of Confucius' family, beginning with the Warring States period, and continuing with the establishment of the Ch'in dynasty and the succeeding Han dynasty. The book is divided into three parts. The first, introductory part deals with the Confucian character and literary mood of the K'ung-ts'ung-tzu. It embeds the philosophical position of the text within the Confucian tradition; it discusses the varied content of the text as a whole, and characterizes the gloomy mood that prevails in it. The second part consists of an annotated translation of chapters 15-23 of the text. The third part is a computational reconstruction of the K'ung-ts'ung-tzu's eleventh chapter, a concise dictionary entitled Hsiao Erh-ya.
T'an Ssu-t'ung, 1865-1898 book cover
#36

T'an Ssu-t'ung, 1865-1898

Life and Thought of a Reformer

1996

The first full-length study in English on T'an Ssu-t'ung, a well-known scholar-reformer in late-Ch'ing China. Based on a rich variety of primary sources, it traces T'an's progress from his early years to his summary execution during the palace coup in 1898. The Introduction explains the premises and sources pertinent to this study, while the Epilogue provides an overall interpretation of T'an's life. The remaining eight chapters are organized in such a way as to allow a chronological and thematic appreciation of the book's subject matter. This is more than a biography of a remarkable individual. By placing T'an's personal experience in the larger social and political contexts, it also sheds light on an emergent intellectual community in modern China.
Chinese Outcasts book cover
#37

Chinese Outcasts

Discrimination and Emancipation in Late Imperial China

1996

Outcasts and pariahs are known to exist in several Asian countries but have usually not been associated with traditional Chinese society. "Chinese Outcasts" shows that some Chinese were in fact treated as outcasts or semi-outcasts. They include the boat people of South China and certain less well-known groups in different regions, including the "musicians' households" and the "fallen people." The reasons for their inferior status and perceived impurity is examined, as well as the intent behind a series of imperial emancipation edicts in the 1720s and 30s. The edict provided an escape route from inferior legal status but failed to put a quick end to customary social discrimination.
The Chinese Sky During the Han book cover
#38

The Chinese Sky During the Han

Constellating Stars and Society

1997

A reconstruction of the Chinese sky of two thousand years ago, based on analysis of the first star catalogue in China and other sources. Presented in six well-sized star maps for 100 BC, it is especially important for the history of astronomy. The Han sky, with five times more constellations than Ptolemy knew, reflects diverse human activities. The way in which constellations were grouped discloses a systematic cosmology, uniting universe and the state. The work of the three Han schools is comparable to Ptolemy's Almagest. With three detailed Appendices on the constellations of the three schools, well illustrated to demonstrate the relation between sky and human society, this book is valuable not only for astronomy historians and sinologists, but in general for scholars interested in the ancient cultures of Asia.
Euclid in China book cover
#40

Euclid in China

The Genesis of the First Chinese Translation of Euclid's Elements, Books I-VI (Jihe Yuanben, Beijing, 1607) and Its Reception Up to 1723

1998

As part of the Jesuits' programme of introduction to European culture, in 1607 the Elements of Euclid (+ 300 BC) were translated for the first time into Chinese. The translation of this epoch-making ancient Greek textbook on deductive geometry meant a confrontation of contemporary Chinese and European cultures. Part I of Peter Engelfriet's work deals mainly with the European and Chinese backgrounds, part II with linguistic and textual matters. In part III the manner in which learned Chinese tried to integrate this new knowledge into their own, Chinese, mathematical and cultural traditions comes to the fore. This fascinating work explores in depth and at various levels the circumstances and mechanisms that shaped the transmission of a key work of science from one language and cultural context onto another. Consequently it offers often surprising insights into the ways of intercultural exchange and misunderstandings.
Chinese Popular Culture and Ming Chantefables book cover
#41

Chinese Popular Culture and Ming Chantefables

1998

In 1967 a body of Chinese texts was discovered in a tomb outside Shanghai. It contained a set of unique examples of an oral genre favoured by unlearned classes in the late imperial period (15th century), best called 'chantefables', appearing at the beginning of a profound historical shift which resulted in a broadening of the uses of writing and printing in China. These texts are now generally seen to occupy an important place in the development of Chinese literature as a whole, and of Chinese vernacular literature in particular. In the first monographic treatment of all the chantefable corpus in English the author, by examination from a more anthropological view, points out that these 'oral traditional texts' can only be appreciated in the festival, ritual and performative context of their derivation and reception. Topics dealt with in this important work include the popular interpretation of Confucian orthodoxies, the literary recycling of the oral tradition, and the influence of chantefables on the development of Chinese vernacular fiction. The author offers interesting comparative perspective on the different social consequences of print technology in China and the West. Illustrations of ten chantefable woodblocks are included.
Methods of the Way book cover
#42

Methods of the Way

Early Chinese Ethical Thought

1998

In the second century B.C. the Chinese political philosopher Jia Yi allegedly composed his Daoshu (Methods of the way). In this work he describes the early development of terms for proper comportment, and it would eventually turn out to be an important source for our knowledge of the early development of Chinese ethical thought. The author of this new study, Rune Svarverud, defines a set of 112 key terms of early Chinese ethics in the text Daoshu. The second part is devoted to an annotated translation of the Daoshu chapter, followed by a detailed analysis of the development of these ethical terms. In the first part the author deals with the textual authenticity and transmission. This work is an important contribution to our understanding of the roles of ethics in early China.
The Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads book cover
#43

The Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads

Creating an Identity

1998

The extensive ritual and mythological lore of the Chinese Triads form the scope of this new paperback title in Brill's Scholars' List. The author critically evaluates the extant sources and offers a wealth of contextual information. The core of the book is formed by a close reading of the initiation ritual, including the burning of incense, the altar, the enactment of a journey of life and death, and the blood covenant. Different narrative structures are also presented. These include the messianic demonological paradigm, political legitimation, and the foundation of myth. Triad lore is placed in its own religious and cultural context, allowing radically new conclusions about its origins, meanings and functions. This book is of special interest to social historians, anthropologists, and students of Chinese religious culture.
Chinese Women in the Imperial Past book cover
#44

Chinese Women in the Imperial Past

New Perspectives

1999

The present volume is the result of a Leiden University workshop on women in imperial China by a group of international scholars. In recent years Chinese women and gender studies have attracted more and more attention, and this book is one of the first efforts to focus on major aspects of this subject. It covers a wide range of topics and disciplines, including bibliography, demography, history, legal studies, literature, history of medicine, and philosophy. Chinese Women in the Imperial Past can rightly be seen as connected with the new Brill journal NAN NU, Men, Women and Gender in Early and Imperial China, which was founded to provide the scholarly community with a lasting forum in which the subject of Chinese women and gender can be dealt with in its own right."
Chinese Thought in a Global Context book cover
#45

Chinese Thought in a Global Context

A Dialogue Between Chinese and Western Philosophical Approaches

1999

How do Chinese and Western philosophical traditions interact today? In the underlying collection of articles both Chinese and Western scholars carefully examine the issue, one of fundamental importance for the mutual understanding of China and the West. The volume is the result of a symposium which sought to initiate a dialogue between China and the West on questions ranging from philosophy to politics and aesthetics. The papers deal with various topics of cross-cultural hermeneutics, such as differences between Chinese and Western concepts of man s relation to the universe, human rights, self and community, good and evil, and beauty. In some of the contributions attempts are made to adapt the Chinese philosophical inheritance to the modern or post-modern condition. A useful reference for all those - historians of ideas, political scientists, and China watchers alike - who want to understand the dynamics of the cultural flow between East and West and the significance of Chinese thought in a global context."
Warfare in Chinese History book cover
#47

Warfare in Chinese History

2000

Our understanding of Chinese warfare has suffered from misconstrued contrasts between Chinese and Western ways in warfare. This is one of the arguments convincingly set forth in this important volume on an important subject. It also discusses the essentialising interpretations of Chinese culture focussing on the avoidance of warfare and the civil ethic of its officials. Based on original sources, and dealing with the subject from the earliest dynasty up to modernity, it uniquely combines chapters on strategy and tactics. Both scope and approach make it a must for historians of China. And, with a view to its conclusions on the place of China in the context of global military history, it also provides essential reading for historians of (comparative) warfare in general. The book's primary goal - to provide a fuller interpretation of the role of the military in Chinese history - has been achieved with ease.
Translating Science book cover
#48

Translating Science

The Transmission of Western Chemistry Into Late Imperial China, 1840-1900

2000

How did the Chinese in the 19th century deal with the enormous influx of Western science? What were the patterns behind this watershed in Chinese intellectual history? This work deals with those responsible for the translation of science, the major issues they were confronted with, and their struggles; the Chinese translators views of its overpowering influence on, and interaction with their own great tradition, those of the missionary-translators who used natural theology to propagate the Gospel, and those of John Fryer, a secular missionary, who founded the Shanghai Polytechnic and edited the Chinese Scientific Magazine. With due attention for the techniques of translation, the formation of new terms, the mechanisms behind the struggle for survival between the, in this case, chemical terms, all amply illustrated at the hand of original texts. The final chapter charts the intellectual influence of Western science, the role of the scientific metaphor in political discourse, and the translation of science from a collection of mere techniques to a source of political inspiration."
The Emporium Of The World book cover
#49

The Emporium Of The World

Maritime Quanzhou, 1000-1400

2000

This volume, by offering a score of new insights derived from a wide variety of recent archaeological and textual sources, bring to life an important overseas trading port in Southeast Asia: Quanzhou. During the Song and Yuan dynasties active official and unofficial engagement in trade had formative effects on the development of the maritime trade of Quanzhou and its social and economic position both regionally and supraregionally. In the first part subjects such as the impact of the Song imperial clan and the local elites on these developments, the economic importance of metals, coins, paper money, and changes in the political economy, are amply discussed. The second part concentrates on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of archaeological data and materials, the investigation of commodities from China, their origins, distribution and final destinations, the use of foreign labour, and the particular role of South Thailand in trade connections, thus supplying the hard data underlying the main argument of the book."
Statecraft and Intellectual Renewal in Late Ming China book cover
#50

Statecraft and Intellectual Renewal in Late Ming China

The Cross-Cultural Synthesis of Xu Guangqi

2001

This is the first comprehensive work on one of the key figures in early Chinese-Western relations. Xu Guangqi was one of the first promoters of Western science in China, worked together with the Jesuit Matteo Ricci on translations of Western science, was one of the first Chinese converts, a high-ranking statesman, organizer of a major calendar reform, introduced Western weapons into the Chinese army, etc. etc. His astonishingly multifarious activities are now for the first time pieced together within their (Chinese and Western) social, intellectual and cultural context. The result is a composite profile of this complex figure that is solidly anchored in Chinese (and Western) primary sources A major achievement.
The Hmong of China book cover
#51

The Hmong of China

Context, Agency, and the Imaginary

2002

This first ethnography of the Hmong in China is based on Nicholas Tapp's extensive fieldwork in a Hmong village in Sichuan. Basing his analysis on the concepts of context and agency, Tapp discusses the "paradoxical ambivalence at the heart of Hmong culture." A paradox arises in the historical and ethnographic construction of the identity of the Hmong by conscious contrast with, and in opposition to, a majority Han Chinese identity at the same time that large parts of Hmong culture are shared with the Chinese and may be the results of historical processes of adoption, absorption, mimesis, or emulation. Tapp examines the Hmong rituals of shamanism, ancestral respect, and death and provides details on livelihood, kinship, local organization, and intellectual culture. The book is enhanced with thorough accounts of ceremonies, rituals, and folktales, with translations of Hmong songs and stories. This publication has also been published in hardback (no longer available).
New Terms for New Ideas book cover
#52

New Terms for New Ideas

Western Knowledge and Lexical Change in Late Imperial China

2001

This volume is about the lasting impact of new (Western) notions on the 19th and early 20th century Chinese language; their invention, spread and standardization. Reaching beyond the mere cataloguing of the thousands of lexical innovations in this period of change, the essays explore the multiple ways in which initially alien notions were naturalized in Chinese scientific and political discourse. Topics examined range from preconceptions about the capacity of the Chinese language to accommodate foreign ideas, the formation of specific nomenclatures and the roles of individual translators, to Chinese and European attempts at coming to terms with each other s grammar. By systematically analysing and assessing the lexical adaptation of Western notions in Chinese contexts, the book will serve as a valuable reference work for all those interested in the historical semantics of modern China."
The Water God's Temple of the Guangsheng Monastery book cover
#53

The Water God's Temple of the Guangsheng Monastery

Cosmic Function of Art, Ritual, and Theater

2001

The 14th century dragon king temple in Southern Shanxi is the only known intact survivor of this ancient Water God institution once existing in every Chinese agricultural community. After describing the history, lay-out and mural paintings of the building, its original Yuan time mural paintings enable the author to depict the ritual of praying for rain, and the actual rain-making of the god. The meaning of the unique painting of a theatrical company is interpreted as to subject and its connections with the ritual of praying for rain. Rainmaking magic is compared with similar practices in other parts of the world (India), and thus suggests a common cosmological basis of Chinese and Indian cultures, and a common pattern of human behaviour and mode of thinking concerning human procreation and food production.
Zhou Mi’s Record of Clouds and Mist Passing Before One’s Eyes book cover
#54

Zhou Mi’s Record of Clouds and Mist Passing Before One’s Eyes

An Annotated Translation

2002

Subject of this book is the social and cultural history of Chinese art collecting during the early years of Mongol rule in China (the Yuan dynasty, 1276-1368). At the core of Weitz s book is a complete translation of the Record of Clouds and Mist Passing Before One s Eyes (Yunyan guoyan lu), an art catalog written by the Song dynasty loyalist Zhou Mi (1232-1298). This text contains detailed records of more than forty private art collections that the author saw in Hangzhou between 1275 and 1296. The careful annotations, scholarly introduction, and well-researched appendices help to broaden our understanding of the early care and transmission of artworks, the social dimensions of art collecting, and the development of a multi-ethnic society in Yuan China."
Chinese Concepts Of Privacy book cover
#55

Chinese Concepts Of Privacy

2002

Privacy is a basic concept in discussions on the concept of human rights. This first book on the (traditional) Chinese approach to the subject shows that concepts of privacy have been part of discourse in China from the earliest recorded times to the present, with varying contents, mechanisms, functions and values at different times and among different groups of people. Individual chapters examine inscriptions on early bronzes, medical case histories in the Ming and Qing dynasties, fictional representations of privacy experiences, discussions on public and private virtue by Liang Qichao, the role (or absence) of privacy issues in letters in early imperial China, and the function and values of privacy, secrecy and seclusion in the correspondence between Lu Xun and Xu Guangping. As the first treatment of Chinese concepts of privacy in any language, the book is interdiscipinary by nature and pays particular attention to the terminology and methodology of privacy studies.
Chinese Ethics in a Global Context book cover
#56

Chinese Ethics in a Global Context

Moral Bases of Contemporary Societies

2002

How do Chinese and Western ethical traditions interact today? In this collection of articles both Chinese and Western scholars carefully examine the issue, one of fundamental importance for the mutual understanding between China and the West. The volume is the result of the second symposium which focused on a dialogue between China and the West on questions of ethics, in particular concerning their commensurability and a possible common ground. The first part of the book discusses general problems of ethics in a cross-cultural context, followed by articles on ethical bases of Chinese and Western societies respectively. Further topics range from moral traditions in the context of social transformation in China today to developments in Western societies, politics, education and religion. The last part deals with controversial issues such as human rights vs. human duties and medical ethics.
Sexual Life in Ancient China book cover
#57

Sexual Life in Ancient China

A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D.

1974

The fundamental concept determining the ancient Chinese attitude toward sex was "an unreserved, joyful acceptation of all the varied aspects of human procreation.
The Archives of the Kong Koan of Batavia book cover
#59

The Archives of the Kong Koan of Batavia

2003

The archive of the Kong Koan constitutes the only relatively complete archive of a diaspora Chinese urban community in Southeast Asia. The essays in the present volume offer important and new insights into many different aspects of Overseas Chinese life between 1780-1965. The Kong Koan of colonial Batavia was a semi-autonomous organization, in which the local elite of Jakarta s Chinese community supervised and coordinated its social and religious matters. During its long existence as a semi-official colonial institution, the Kong Koan collected sizeable Chinese archival holdings with demographic data on marriages and funerals, account books of the religious organisations and temples, documents connected with educational institutions, and the meetings of the board itself."
Sentimental Education in Chinese History book cover
#60

Sentimental Education in Chinese History

An Interdisciplinary Textual Research on Ming and Qing Sources

2003

This is the long-awaited first book-form result of the author s pioneering interdisciplinary research on a key problem for understanding Chinese texts, and, therewith, China: its ways of expression of emotions and states of mind. Relying on his immense database on (mostly) Ming and Qing sources, the author here presents the first truly solid, source-based survey on the subject. After analysing the methodological problems involved, the volume focuses on contradictions between official values on the one hand, and practical compromises between individual appetitive energies and personal tendencies for wealth and gratification of desires on the other hand. It analyses the negotiating process between the rigid ethical codes and dynamic social changes, as well as how social control influences the cognitive elements of emotions, both in restraining personal passions and promoting the "virtuous sentiments.""
The Age of Eternal Brilliance (2 vols) book cover
#61

The Age of Eternal Brilliance (2 vols)

Three Lyric Poets of the Yung-ming Era (483-493) Vol. I and II

2003

This volume presents the nearly complete oeuvre of ShenYueh, Hsieh T iao, and Wang Jung, i.e. the full original texts, Professor Richard Mather s full annotated translations, and brief biographies of these three classical poets, who all had such a profound impact on succeeding centuries. The reader will here find first-hand reactions and ruminations by highly sensitive and articulate participants in the tumultuous events and intellectual currents of an age that was definitely more than just a chaotic transition between the Han and the T ang dynasties. With index."
Erotic Colour Prints of the Ming Period (2 Vols) book cover
#62

Erotic Colour Prints of the Ming Period (2 Vols)

With an Essay on Chinese Sex Life from the Han to the Ch'ing Dynasty, B.C. 206-A.D. 1644. Authorized ... Leidensia)

1989

In 1949 the sinologist Robert van Gulik (also known now for his Judge Dee mysteries) purchased in a Tokyo curio-shop a set of printing blocks of a Ming Erotic Album. Two years later the album, with an extensive treatise, was published by Van Gulik himself in a 50 copies print run, sent to a small group of Sinological libraries, as "the erotic prints and other data ought not to fall into the hands of unqualified readers". It was to be the author's first work on the subject, preceding his 'groundbreaking' Sexual Life in Ancient China (new edition, Brill, 2002). Unqualified readers have now at last become qualified with this official edition. James Cahill, Wilt Idema and Soeren Edgren provide readers with indispensable introductions to its art historical, literary, biographical, and book technical context. All volumes of the print edition will become available in individual 9789004531604 (volume 1) - 9789004531611 (volume 2).
Love and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Literature book cover
#63

Love and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Literature

2003

Do all cultures and historical periods have a concept corresponding to the English word "emotion"? This collection of essays is concerned with the closest candidate within the Chinese language, namely the term "qing," What is the meaning of this term in different periods and genres? What are the types of discourse in which it is typically found? This volume contains two essays on the notion of "qing" in classical sources, two on Chan Buddhist usage, and two on fiction and drama from the Ming and Qing dynasties. An introductory essay discusses the complex historical development of the term. Together, the essays may be read as a first step towards a conceptual history of one of the key terms in traditional Chinese culture.
Material Virtue book cover
#66

Material Virtue

Ethics And The Body In Early China

2004

This book reconstructs a neglected episode in the development of Confucianism, one that considerably influenced later Chinese religious thought. Material Virtue examines a set of four through first century B.C.E. Chinese texts that argue virtue has a physical correlate in the body. Based on both transmitted (e.g., the Mengzi or Mencius) and recently excavated (e.g., the Wuxing or Five Kinds of Action) texts, Material Virtue describes how the argument addresses challenges to early Chinese religious ethics in part by relying on emerging notions such as the balance of qi (pneumas) also found in natural philosophy.
Inventing Hui-neng, the Sixth Patriarch book cover
#68

Inventing Hui-neng, the Sixth Patriarch

Hagiography And Biography in Early Ch'an

2005

It was through the propaganda of Shen-hui (684-758) that Hui-neng (d. 710) became the also today still towering figure of sixth patriarch of Ch an/Zen Buddhism, and accepted as the ancestor or founder of all subsequent Ch an lineages. The first part of the book analyses the creation of the image of Hui-neng and the worship of a lacquered mummy said to be that of Hui-neng. Using the life of Confucius as a template for its structure, Shen-hui invented a hagiography for the then highly obscure Hui-neng. At the same time, Shen-hui forged a lineage of patriarchs of Ch an back to the Buddha using ideas from Indian Buddhism and Chinese ancestor worship. The second half of the book examines the production of the hagiographies of Hui-neng, how they evolved, and the importance of ideas about authorship and the role of place. It demonstrates the influence of Confucian thought, politics and the periphery in the growth of early Ch an hagiography and the changing image of Hui-neng."
The Tapestry of Popular Songs in 16th- and 17th-Century China book cover
#69

The Tapestry of Popular Songs in 16th- and 17th-Century China

Reading, Imitation, and Desire

2005

Popular songs in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century China form a rich and intriguing body of materials hardly studied so far in the English-speaking world. This book is about these songs and their impact on Chinese culture and literary practice. It examines the tapestry books in which popular songs circulated, how books shaped readers, how books were shaped by a range of literacies, and how arrangements of performance-texts aided imitation and selection of words or phrases. Publishing histories of the popular song collections bring to light how songs were duplicated for readers among the elite and sub-elite. The analysis of how popular songs bring together the "high" and the "low" is of special value for literary scholars and intellectual historians, and challenges the traditonal dichotomy between elite and popular culture.
A Native Chieftaincy in Southwest China book cover
#70

A Native Chieftaincy in Southwest China

Franchising a Tai Chieftaincy under the Tusi System of Late Imperial China

2005

For nearly 700 years, the Chinese state exercised control over the minority peoples in its border provinces through the hereditary native chieftaincies (tusi). Utilizing fieldwork carried out by PRC authorities in the 1950s, this book investigates a Zhuang tusi in Guangxi. It explores the history and institutions of the tusi system, and discusses the dual quality of the tusi chieftaincy as a Chinese franchise and a non-Chinese polity. It describes the social structure, village administration and land tenure system of this tusi, the customary institutions of its ruling clan, and the impact of the replacement by direct Chinese rule in the 20th century. It also sheds light on the political management of the strategically sensitive Chinese-Vietnamese border over 600 years.
Wu Yun's Way book cover
#72

Wu Yun's Way

Life and Works of an Eighth-Century Daoist Master

2006

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."
The Poetry of He Zhu (1052-1152) book cover
#74

The Poetry of He Zhu (1052-1152)

Genres, Contexts, and Creativity

2007

The Northern Song poet He Zhu is best known for his lyrics (ci) but also produced shi poetry of subtlety, wit, and feeling. This study examines the latter as a response to the options available to a late-eleventh century writer in the pentametrical and heptametrical forms of Ancient Verse, Regulated Verse, and Quatrains. Numerous comparisons are made with Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Du Fu, and other important writers. In a major advance over previous methodologies, the author uses a clear system of metrical notation to show how sound patterns reveal the poet's artistic and emotional intentions. This innovation and the author's other meticulous explorations of He Zhu's artistry allow us to experience Chinese poetry as never before. From the reader's report: "not just an excellent study of an individual poet but also a model of reading the language of classical Chinese poetry. \[..\] opens up a world of interpretive territory heretofore seldom explored."
Philosopher, Practitioner, Politician book cover
#75

Philosopher, Practitioner, Politician

The Many Lives of Fazang 643-712

2007

The Buddhist master Fazang is regarded as one of the greatest metaphysicians in medieval Asia. This study aims at correcting misinterpretations and shedding light on neglected areas, opening up for discussion the various structures of medieval East Asian monastic biography.
Cultivating Perfection book cover
#76

Cultivating Perfection

Mysticism and Self-transformation in Early Quanzhen Daoism

2007

Employing a comparative religious studies approach, this book provides a comprehensive discussion of early Quanzhen as a Daoist religious movement charactized by asceticism, alchemical transformation, and mystical experiencing. Emphasis is placed on the complex interplay among views of self, religious praxis, and religious experience.
Painting Faith book cover
#77

Painting Faith

Li Gonglin and Northern Song Buddhist Culture

2007

Drawing from previously untapped Buddhist sources, this book contextualizes Li Gonglins Buddhist faith and art through the Chan environment in his hometown (Longmian) and the prevailing Tiantai, Pure Land, Huayan and Chan schools of the Northern Song Dynasty.
International Law As World Order in Late Imperial China book cover
#78

International Law As World Order in Late Imperial China

Translation, Reception and Discourse, 1847-1911

2007

The topic of this book is the early introduction and reception of international law in China. International law is studied as part of the introduction of the Western sciences and as a theoretical orientation in international affairs 1847-1911.
Graphics and Text in the Production of Technical Knowledge in China book cover
#79

Graphics and Text in the Production of Technical Knowledge in China

The Warp and the Weft

2007

Drawing on history of science and philosophy of knowledge, this wide-ranging collection of essays on varieties of diagram, schema, technical illustration and chart offers a challenging new interpretation of technical knowledge in Chinese thought and practice.
Life in a Kam Village in Southwest China, 1930-1949 book cover
#80

Life in a Kam Village in Southwest China, 1930-1949

2007

Although this unique insider's account of minority life in China is clearly a book in itself, it is also the sequel to the much-acclaimed The Kam People of China (Geary, Ou and others, 2003). It describes the hitherto scarcely researched culture of people from Xiangye village, in an untravelled corner of Guizhou province, Southwest China, in the 20 years leading up to Liberation in 1949. Xiangye is a Kam (Dong) nationality village, so the book highlights Kam culture of the 1930s and 1940s. It is a fascinating and unparalleled study, also offering exceptionally clear details of many aspects of material culture and social customs, for example, the work of rice-farming, cotton production, and cooking, beautifully illustrated with line drawings and photographs, that should appeal to anyone interested in the Kam people, China, or in ethnology generally. The author grew up in Xiangye and later became Professor of Anthropology at a university in Qinghai province. The manuscript was first written in Chinese, with the intention of having it translated into English for an outside readership.
The Politics of Language in Chinese Education, 1895-1919 book cover
#82

The Politics of Language in Chinese Education, 1895-1919

2007

Viewing education as the central battleground over the status of language, this book investigates the language policies of various social agents in early 20th century China and offers a comprehensive and fascinating analysis of the emergence of China's national language.
Kingship in Early Medieval China book cover
#83

Kingship in Early Medieval China

2008

The institution of the Retired Emperor forms the innovative angle from which this study analyzes Classical Chinese political history (4th to 7th centuries A.D.) and lays bare broader patterns of political and social action of Classical Chinese monarchy. The author lays a basis for a new framework to think about kingship and succession in East Asia.
Sizhu Instrumental Music of South China book cover
#84

Sizhu Instrumental Music of South China

Ethos, Theory and Practice

2008

According to a reader's report, this is "one of the finest studies on (any kind of) Chinese music to emerge in recent years." Based on extensive fieldwork and a thorough knowledge of the scholarly literature, the author examines the theoretical underpinnings of the 'silk and bamboo' instrumental ensemble traditions of the Chaozhou, Hakka and Cantonese peoples of South China.
Chinese Poetry in Times of Mind, Mayhem and Money book cover
#86

Chinese Poetry in Times of Mind, Mayhem and Money

2008

Chinese Poetry in Times of Mind, Mayhem and Money is a groundbreaking study covering a range of contemporary authors and issues, from Haizi to Yin Lichuan and from poetic rhythm to exile-bashing. Its rigorous scholarship, literary sensitivity and lively style make it eminently fit for classroom use.
Gao Xingjian's Idea of Theatre book cover
#87

Gao Xingjian's Idea of Theatre

From the Word to the Image

2008

This book argues that Gao Xingjian's Idea of Theatre can only be explained by his broad knowledge and use of various Chinese and Western theatrical, literary, artistic and philosophical traditions.
The Great Recreation book cover
#89

The Great Recreation

Ho Ching-ming (1483-1521) and His World

2008

Based on extensive use of contemporary historical and literary sources, this book offers a detailed account of the Ming poet Ho Ching-ming and his place in the Chinese poetic tradition, arguing for a reevaluation of the 'Archaist' school and Ming poetry in general within Chinese literary history.
The Chinese Translation of Russian Literature book cover
#90

The Chinese Translation of Russian Literature

Three Studies

2008

A history of the translation, transmission and interpretation of modernist Russian literature in China during the first half of the 20th century, this book views modern Chinese literary culture from an original and revealing perspective. It is the first English-language study of the subject to draw on sources in both Russian and Chinese, and it also shows the crucial role of English, German and Japanese translations in mediating knowledge of Russian literature in China.
Text, Performance and Gender in Chinese Literature and Music book cover
#92

Text, Performance and Gender in Chinese Literature and Music

Essays in Honor of Wilt Idema

2009

Bringing together new research on Chinese literature and music by twenty-two scholars, on topics ranging from Tang poetry to women's writing and the internet, this collection pays tribute to Wilt Idema as a leading scholar in a field of tremendous scope and diversity.
The Glory of Yue book cover
#93

The Glory of Yue

An Annotated Translation of the Yuejue Shi

2010

The Glory of Yue is the first translation into any Western language of the Yuejue shu, a collection of essays on history, literature, religion, architecture, economic thought, military science, and philosophy related to the ancient kingdoms of Wu and Yue, in present day eastern China. This book consists of sixteen chapters, together with three additional chapters of explanation written by the compilers in approximately 25 CE. This translation is presented with copious annotations and explanations, linking the concepts discussed with the development of the mainstream Chinese cultural tradition, and draws on both modern Western and Chinese exegesis, as well as archeological discoveries, to elucidate this highly complex and unjustly neglected text.
The Heavenly Court book cover
#96

The Heavenly Court

Daoist Temple Painting in China, 1200-1400 (Sinica Leidensia)

2011

One of the most magnificent and enduring themes in Chinese painting history can be found depicted in Daoist temples from the local village up to the very capital, viz., the paintings of the Heavenly Court (chaoyuan tu). Surprisingly, its images have remained largely unstudied in Western scholarship. Drawing on a comparative study of four complete sets of wall paintings dating back to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries (the oldest examples), and their related images, painting criticism, stele inscriptions, and Daoist ritual manuals, the author offers the first comprehensive study of the historical development, iconography, ritual context, methods of mural design, and the personalisations made by patrons of the four Heavenly Court paintings.
The Language of the Sangleys book cover
#98

The Language of the Sangleys

A Chinese Vernacular in Missionary Sources of the Seventeenth Century

2010

An incisive, multi-faceted study of a Spanish-Chinese manuscript grammar of the seventeenth century, The Language of the Sangleys presents a fascinating, new chapter in the history of Chinese and general linguistics.
Imperial Warlord book cover
#99

Imperial Warlord

A Biography of Cao Cao 155-220 AD

2010

数世纪以来,曹操以中国历史上最奸诈者的面目示人。另一方面,曹操生于秩序倾颓的汉末乱世,在一定程度上重建了中国北方大部分地区的政治秩序。他不仅自身是一位优秀的诗人,还引领了中国早期文学史上最为灿烂辉煌的时代。在任何文明中,都少有人能有如此才华、取得如此成就,能够在去世后仍如此受关注的更是凤毛麟角。 曹操在历史文献、考古材料以及他自己的作品中给我们留下了相当丰富的信息。尽管曹操的大部分故事因敌人的诽谤以及数代后的浪漫主义热情而变得混乱不明,但其核心事实仍然可考;很少能有距我们如此遥远但事迹又如此清晰的人物了。本书综合陈寿编撰的官方正史《三国志》及裴松之注释等史料,努力为我们还原一个最为接近历史原貌的曹操。
The Novel and Theatrical Imagination in Early Modern China book cover
#101

The Novel and Theatrical Imagination in Early Modern China

2011

The cultural fascination with and imagination of theater has long been overlooked as an important historical and literary context for reading Water Margin and Journey to the West . This study focuses on the concept of "the theatrical" to read those novels and their commentaries. Imbued with performances, playacting, spectacles, and spectatorship, the early modern theatrical novel borrowed heavily from theater to conflate the theatrical and the real, juggle theatrical roles, persons, and identities, and contest orthodoxies by challenging and appropriating sites of control and authority. This study showcases the theatrical novel's unique position as a new form of literati self-representation in response to the destabilizing social and political forces of early modern China.
Chinese Poetic Modernisms book cover
#143

Chinese Poetic Modernisms

2019

This volume explores Chinese poetic modernism from its origins in the 1920s through 21st century manifestations. Modernisms as a title reflects the full complexity of the ideas and forms which can be associated with this literary-historical term.
Diamond Sutra Narratives book cover
#144

Diamond Sutra Narratives

Textual Production and Lay Religiosity in Medieval China

2019

Contextualizing the sutra within a milieu of intense religious and cultural experimentation, this volume unravels the sudden rise of Diamond Sutra devotion in the Tang dynasty against the backdrop of a range of social, political, and literary activities. Through the translation and exploration of a substantial body of narratives extolling the efficacy of the sutra, it explores the complex social history of lay Buddhism by focusing on how the laity might have conceived of the sutra and devoted themselves to it. Corroborated by various sources, it reveals the cult's effect on medieval Chinese religiosity in the activities of an empowered laity, who modified and produced parasutraic texts, prompting the monastic establishment to accommodate to the changes they brought about.
Powerful Arguments book cover
#146

Powerful Arguments

Standards of Validity in Late Imperial China

2020

The essays in Powerful Arguments reconstruct the standards of validity underlying argumentative practices in a wide array of late imperial Chinese discourses, ranging from historiography, philosophy, law and religion to natural studies, literature, and the civil examination system.
Dionysus on the Other Shore book cover
#147

Dionysus on the Other Shore

Gao Xingjian's Theatre of the Tragic

2020

In Dionysus on the Other Shore, Letizia Fusini re-examines Gao Xingjian's post-1987 theatre as a form of tragedy.
Hua Yan (1682-1756) and the Making of the Artist in Early Modern China book cover
#148

Hua Yan (1682-1756) and the Making of the Artist in Early Modern China

2020

Hua Yan (1682-1756) and the Making of the Artist in Early Modern China explores the relationships between the artist, local society, and artistic practice during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Arranged as an investigation of the artist Hua Yan’s work at a pivotal moment in eighteenth-century society, this book considers his paintings and poetry in early eighteenth-century Hangzhou, mid-eighteenth-century Yangzhou, and finally their nineteenth-century afterlife in Shanghai. By investigating Hua Yan’s struggle as a marginalized artist—both at his time and in the canon of Chinese art—this study draws attention to the implications of seeing and being seen as an artist in early modern China.
Physiognomy in Ming China book cover
#149

Physiognomy in Ming China

Fortune and the Body

2020

In Physiognomy in Ming China: Fortune and the Body, Xing Wang provides an extensive reading of the Ming (1368-1644 C. E.) texts of a well-known body divination technique 'xiangshu' (physiognomy), and investigates its unique 'somatic cosmology' in Ming religious and intellectual context.
The Chinese Gazette in European Sources book cover
#155

The Chinese Gazette in European Sources

Joining the Global Public in the Early and Mid-Qing Dynasty

2022

The Chinese gazette as a publicly available government publication was distributed in a variety of formats since the twelfth century. Little is known, however, about its form and content before 1800. By looking at China from the periphery, this study shows how European sources offer a unique way of expanding the knowledge about the gazette of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Its interconnected history illustrates how the Chinese gazette, as translated by European missionaries, became a major source for reflections on state and society by Enlightenment thinkers. It thus joined a global public much earlier than so far assumed.
Chinese Buddhism and the Scholarship of Erik Zürcher book cover
#157

Chinese Buddhism and the Scholarship of Erik Zürcher

2022

China has a long and complex history of interactions with the world around it. One of the most successful imports—arguably the most successful before modern times and the impact of the West—is Buddhism, which, since the first centuries of the Common Era, has spread into almost every aspect of Chinese life, thought and practice. Erik Zürcher was one of the most important scholars to study the history of Buddhism in China, and the ways in which Buddhism in China gradually became Chinese Buddhism. More than half a century after the publication of Zürcher's landmark The Buddhist Conquest of China, we now have a collection of essays from the top contemporary specialists exploring aspects of the legacy of Zürcher's investigations, bringing forward new evidence, new ideas and reconsiderations of old theories to present an up-to-date and exciting expansion and revision of what was arguably the single most influential contribution to date on the history of Chinese Buddhism. Contributors are Tim Barrett, Stephen R. Bokenkamp, Funayama Toru, Barend ter Haar, Liu Shufen, Minku Kim, Jan Nattier, Antonello Palumbo, and Nicolas Standaert.

Authors

Erik Zürcher
Author · 1 books

A sinologist who focused on the religions of China. His son, Erik-Jan Zurcher is a Turkologist.

Louis Komjathy
Louis Komjathy
Author · 3 books
Louis Komjathy 康思奇 (Ph.D., Religious Studies; Boston University) is an independent scholar-educator and translator (www.louiskomjathy.org). He researches and has published extensively in Contemplative Studies, Daoist Studies, and Religious Studies, with specific interests in contemplative practice, embodiment, and mystical experience. He is founding Co-chair of the Daoist Studies Unit (2004-2010) and Contemplative Studies Unit (2010-2016) in the American Academy of Religion, and founding Co-director of the Daoist Foundation (www.daoistfoundation.org). In addition to nine books to date, he has contributed chapters to _Meditation and the Classroom: Contemplative Pedagogy for Religious Studies_ (2011), _Perceiving the Divine through the Human Body: Mystical Sensuality_ (2011), _The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions_ (2012), _The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion_ (2014), _Religion: A Next-Generation Handbook for Its Robust Study_ (2016), _Teaching Interreligious Encounters_ (2017), _Ineffability: An Exercise in Comparative Philosophy of Religion_ (2017), and _Transformational Embodiment in Asian Religions: Subtle Bodies, Spatial Bodies_ (2020), among others. His current work explores cross-cultural and perennial questions related to aliveness, extraordinariness, flourishing, transmutation, and trans-temporality. He lives in semi-seclusion on the Northshore of Chicago, Illinois.
David Wright
Author · 1 books

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Anders Hansson
Author · 1 books
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Robert van Gulik
Robert van Gulik
Author · 30 books
Robert Hans van Gulik was a Dutch diplomat best known for his Judge Dee stories. His first published book, The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee, was a translation of an eighteenth-century Chinese murder mystery by an unknown author; he went on to write new mysteries for Judge Dee, a character based on a historical figure from the seventh century. He also wrote academic books, mostly on Chinese history.
Jan De Meyer
Author · 1 books
Sinoloog Jan De Meyer (1961) verdeelt zijn tijd tussen de bossen en meren van de Morvan en de Universiteit Gent, waar hij niet-westerse wijsbegeerte doceert. Voor Augustus vertaalde hij het klassieke taoïstische werk Liezi (2008) en schreef hij Leyuan. De tuin van het geluk (2009). In het najaar van 2010 verschijnt zijn vertaling van de grote klassieke Chinese roman De reizen van Oud Afval (Lao Can youji).
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2025 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved