Preparing one’s act: performance supports and the question of human nature in early China

Author:

Maddalena Poli

School:

University of Pennsylvania

Year:

2022

Abstract:

Since the 20th century, Chinese institutions have been recovering a growing number of ancient objects, among which figure manuscripts produced during the Warring States (453–221 BCE) era. These are the protagonists of this dissertation. Chapter one articulates the overarching goal of my study: the importance of rigorous philological and intellectual engagement to promote the significance of these manuscripts in and beyond the study of early Chinese history. In Chapter two, I analyze manuscripts produced around 300 BCE as what I call “performance supports,” rather than self-contained philosophical and historical essays. My notion of “performance supports” incorporates observations about the composite nature of early Chinese manuscripts, but better accounts for other textual features, such as errors, abrupt endings, list-like passages, etc. Chapter three discusses the implications of my argument. I show how performance supports were used in practices of knowledge management that relied on, but went beyond, the written medium. I explore oratory, recitation, literary compositions, and writings used to organize and retrieve knowledge. I then compare performance supports to other Warring States texts, so as to highlight the peculiarities of both groups and confirm that the concept of performance support is not an ad-hoc solution. Chapter four focuses on the performance support *Natural Dispositions Come from Endowment 性自命出, and reconstructs ways in which this manuscript functioned as the basis for central philosophical debates on “human nature” (xing 性) during the Warring States period. The dissertation is completed by a new philological study of *Natural Dispositions.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE. Setting The Stage

CHAPTER TWO. Ancient Chinese Manuscripts As Performance Supports

CHAPTER THREE. The Performance. How performance supports were used, and by whom

CHAPTER FOUR. The Warring States debate on human nature

Concluding remarks

The Sōushén hòujì 搜神後記：Latter Notes On Collected Spirit Phenomena Attributed to Táo Yuānmíng (365-427)

Author:
Tao Qian

Translator:
Richard VanNess Simmons

Publisher:

American Oriental Society, New Haven

Publication Year:

2022

Abstract:
The Sōushén hòujì 搜神後記 (Latter Notes on Collected Spirit Phenomena), attributed to the celebrated poet Táo Qián 陶潛 (365-427), is a compilation of anecdotes and stories known as zhìguài 志怪 ('records of the anomalous') that document strange and unusual phenomena the author observed in his lifetime. Intended to serve as a sequel to Gān Bǎo's 干寳 (d. 336) Sōushénjì 搜神記 (Collected Spirit Phenomena), the original text was lost but was reconstructed in the late Míng dynasty. This volume presents an annotated translation of the entire Míng version of the Sōushén hòujì as well as of an additional set of surviving stories that were identified and restored to the text by the modern scholar Lǐ Jiànguó 李劍國. The book also includes a history of the Sōushén hòujì text, an examination of its linguistic style and characteristics, a discussion of the historical nature of its contents and how it fits into the zhìguài genre, providing a window onto medieval Chinese society and culture, and a brief overview of recent zhìguài scholarship to guide readers who hope to continue their exploration of the genre.