Writing and authority in early China

by Lewis, Mark Edward

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Title Statements

Full title :Writing and authority in early China / Mark Edward Lewis.

Summary

"This book traces the evolving uses of writing to command assent and obedience in early China, an evolution that culminated in the establishment of a textual canon as the foundation of imperial authority. Its central theme is the emergence of this body of writings as the textual double of the state, and of the text-based sage as the double of the ruler. The book examines the full range of writings employed in early China, such as divinatory records, written communications with ancestors, government documents, the collective writings of philosophical and textual traditions, speeches attributed to historical figures, chronicles, verse anthologies, commentaries, and encyclopedic compendia. Lewis shows how these writings served to administer populations, control officials, form new social groups, invent new models of authority, and create an artificial language whose master generated power and whose graphs became potent objects."--Jacket.

Edition Statements

Publication Date:©1999.

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):State University of New York Press
Place of Publication:Albany
Language:eng
Publication Date:©1999.

The Physical Object

Description:vii, 544 pages ; : 24 cm

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:079144113X, 9780791441138, 0791441148, 9780791441145
oclc:ocm40255867
LC Classification:PL2280
Dewey Decimal:895.1/09001

Introduction -- Writing the state -- Writing the masters -- Writing the past -- Writing the self -- The political history of writing -- The natural philosophy of writing -- The encyclopedic epoch -- The empire of writing.

Subjects

08.10 non-western philosophy China Chinese literature -- History and criti… Chinese literature -- Political aspects Chinese philosophy Criticism, interpretation, etc Entstehung Kanon Literatur Literatura china -- Historia y crítica Literature Littérature chinoise -- Aspect politique Littérature chinoise -- Histoire et cri… Littérature chinoise -- Histoire et cri… POLITICAL ASPECTS Schrift To 221 B.C