[Dissertation] Tang Taizong's Playbook: Jin Shu and How to Use Standard Histories

Author:
Kobzeva, Maria. 

School:
The University of Wisconsin - Madison 

Year:

2019

Abstract:

The dissertation explores what the content and structure of the Jin shu 晉書 (History of Western and Eastern Jin Dynasties, 265–420) compilation revealed about political choices and self-representation of Tang Taizong (r. 626–649), the second emperor of the Tang dynasty (618–907). Emperor Taizong, himself of non-Chinese origins, was concerned with the question of legitimacy and future of his rule. By scrutinizing and closely interacting with the textual tradition, Taizong had sought to justify his right to rule and project an idealized image of himself as a righteous ruler. He standardized the methodical history writing and initiated a massive compilation project of the earlier dynastic histories. For one of them, the Jin shu, he personally wrote critical evaluations in the end of several chapters. Imperial participation in a scholarly compilation implied the importance and specific purpose attached to the work and the role of historiography in the political establishment.

The newly-established regimes, Jin and Tang, shared a number of similarities: a violent power takeover, unification of the empire, difficulties with the neighboring non-Han population, and problematic choice of an heir. The Jin shu provided the emperor with an advantageous, comparative framework between the two regimes in dealing with identical sensitive issues; where the mistakes of the Jin government led to its fall, Taizong’s decisions, albeit problematic, resulted in a peaceful reign. The Jin shu narrative of imperial failure corroborated the Tang emperor’s self-attribution as a perfect ruler who chose the right course of action for the sake of the country’s stability. The dissertation discusses how the similarities reflected main issues of concern of a newly founded Tang dynasty and revealed inconsistencies in Tang’s rhetoric of rationalization that challenged the uniformity of a purported portrait of Taizong and his reign. I argue that Tang Taizong’s continuous efforts to represent the idealized picture of his own rule and defend his choices essentially reflected his insecurities about his political legitimacy and self-identity.

[Dissertation] Writing History Through the Biographical Genre in the Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE).

Author:
Yuanxin CHEN

School:
Princeton University

Year:
2020

Abstract:

My dissertation focuses on one of the most prominent genres of historical writing in imperial China (221 BCE -1912 CE): biography. The life stories of figures from different social strata were compiled into the largest section of many Chinese dynastic histories: the “Arrayed Traditions” (liezhuan) or the “Traditions” (zhuan). As self-contained accounts devoted to individual lives, these biographies played a significant role in constructing Chinese imperial ideologies. My study traces back to the beginning of this biographical tradition. By focusing on the most important works of early imperial Chinese historiography, the Records of the Historian (Shiji) and the Documents of the Han Dynasty (Hanshu), I address how and why the biographical genre emerged as a prevalent form of narrative history over the course of the Han dynasty. 

My research shows that Han historiographers adopted the biographical genre to transform the ways in which historical knowledge was used in philosophical and sociopolitical debates; to provide balanced evaluations of people based on their qualities and deeds; and to develop diverse causes to explain the successes and failures in individual lives. Moreover, these purposes overlapped with the historiographers’ ambition to construct ideological “landscapes” for the Han dynasty. In particular, by compiling biographies of hundreds of individuals from different walks of life, the historiographers covered an unprecedentedly broad scope of sociopolitical issues. To address these issues, the historiographers evaluated individuals, who were often categorized into archetypes, to establish models of different social roles. They also provided moral justifications for individual successes and failures, which were intertwined with the rise and fall of clans and states, to prescribe ethical principles.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Transforming the Discourse of the Past
Chapter 2: Mastering the Art of “Knowing People”
Chapter 3: Prescribing Sociopolitical Norms through Character Evaluation
Chapter 4: Explaining the Ups and Downs in Individual Lives
Chapter 5: Promoting Sociopolitical Principles through the Rhetoric of Moral Causality
Chapter 6: Individuals in the Rise and Fall of Clans and States: Interactions between Biography, Annals, and Genealogy
Conclusion

中国南北朝寒門寒人研究

Author:

榎本　あゆち (Enomoto Ayuchi)

Publication date:

October 22, 2020

Publisher:

汲古書院

Table of Contents:

序　文
第一編　南朝寒門寒人研究
第一章　梁末陳初の諸集団について
　――陳覇先軍団を中心として――
　一　陳覇先集団の形成過程　　　　
　二　広州の陳覇先グループ　　　
　三　嶺南地方と江南将帥層
　四　陳覇先グループと嶺南・南川の土豪
　五　梁末陳初の諸集団　　　　　　
　六　南朝後期の任侠的結合関係
第二章　東晉・南朝の民衆運動と水上交通
　――南康の営民鵃舟了船の越人――
　一　六朝期の南康郡について　　　
　二　東晉末期盧循北上期の南康と原住種族、及び水上交通者
　　　〔南康の木客／南康の営民〕
　三　梁末陳初の南康と水上交通者
　　　〔梁末南康における在地勢力と嶺南洗氏／南康周辺地域の水上交通者
　　　　――特に鵃舟了船の越人について――〕
　四　劉宋期から梁末にいたる南康について
第三章　劉孝標をめぐる人々――南朝政治史上の平原劉氏――
　一　劉孝標の出生と北魏における生活
　二　南朝への帰還と南斉時代
　　　〔孝標と崔慰祖／南斉武帝死後の政治史と孝標〕
　三　梁代の劉孝標と平原劉氏
　　　〔梁天監年間の孝標の活動とその記録をめぐる問題
　　　――所謂錦被事件　を中心として――／劉杏兄弟と孝標
　　　――類書編纂の系譜に関連して――〕
　おわりに――残された課題
第四章　南朝貴族と軍事
　――南斉の雍州刺史王奐を中心として――
　一　南朝貴族と中央・地方軍　　
　二　王奐の出自と劉宋期の経歴
　三　南斉期の王奐
　　　〔王奐と南蛮府・江州軍府の廃止／王奐の領軍将軍就官と護軍将軍人事
　　　／雍州刺史就任をめぐって／反乱〕
　おわりに――残された課題

第二編　南北朝中書舎人研究
第五章　梁の中書舎人と南朝賢才主義
　一　梁代中書舎人と賢才主義
　　　〔初期（天監年間）の中書舎人／中期（普通年間）以降の中書舎人／
　　　　礼学と政治世界〕
　二　梁代中書舎人の変容とその諸要因
　　　〔舎人の兼官について／賢才主義と門閥貴族／貨幣経済と舎人〕
　おわりに――南朝賢才主義の行方――
第六章　北魏後期・東魏の中書舎人について
　一　南北朝の中書舎人と賢才主義および兼官制　　
　二　北魏孝文・宣武帝期の中書舎人
　三　孝明帝期の中書舎人　　　　　　　　　　　　
　四　孝荘帝期・東魏の中書舎人
　おわりに――北魏後期・東魏の舎人と兼官制
第七章　北斉の中書舎人について
　――顔之推、そのタクチクスの周辺――
　一　文宣帝期の中書舎人
　　　〔軍務官としての舎人／二重国都・尚書制と舎人〕
　二　北斉後期の中書舎人
　　　〔軍務官と北斉後期政治史／後期舎人達〕
第八章　西魏末・北周の御正について
　一　西魏末から北周明帝期まで
　二　武帝即位から字文護の死まで
　三　武帝親政期
　四　宣帝期

第三編　南朝帰降北人研究
第九章　帰降北人と南朝社会
　――梁の将軍蘭欽の出自を手がかりに――
　一　北族蘭氏
　　　〔蘭欽の事蹟とその伝について／五胡十六国期の蘭氏
　　　／北魏期の蘭氏／北魏末以降の蘭氏〕
　二　北魏南辺城民
　　　〔南辺城民の構成要素とその境遇
　　　／南北両王朝国境地帯における貨幣流通経済の影響〕
第十章　南斉の柔然遣使　王洪範について
　――南朝政治史における三斉豪族と帰降北人――
　一　王洪範の遣使をめぐる国際情勢　　　　　　　
　二　王洪範の出身と遣使までの経歴
　三　帰朝後の王洪範と南斉軍事史　
　　　〔永明期――梁州と三斉豪族――／武帝の死から明帝即位まで
　　――明帝と三斉豪族――／建武年間――北魏との戦いと王洪範の死――〕
第十一章　侯景の乱前史
　――寿春・帰降北人・蛮・在地豪族をめぐって――
　一　東晉から南斉にかけての寿春　　　
　二　北魏の寿春占領とその影響――在地豪族と南北境界線上の蛮――
　三　北魏の寿春支配　　　　
　四　梁軍の寿春攻撃――北魏南辺軍鎮の動揺と帰降北人・蛮の南叛――
　五　梁の寿春奪還――淮水堰建設と帰降北人王足――
　六　侯景と寿春――梁王朝と在地社会――
　おわりに――武帝と帰降北人、および中原の夢――

第四編　南朝関連史料研究
第十二章　姚察・姚思廉の「梁書」編纂について
　――臨川王宏伝を中心として――
　一　『梁書』をめぐる趙翼と朱希祖の見解　　　　
　二　『梁書』と『南史』の臨川王宏伝
　三　臨川王宏の官歴についての『梁書』の記載　　
　四　呉興武康の姚氏と臨川王家
第十三章　『南史』の説話的要素について
　――梁諸王伝を手がかりとして――
　一　『南史』と『梁書』の梁諸王伝
　　　〔両書の比較／『南史』梁諸王伝中の小説的要素〕
　二　北朝後期士大夫社会における談論の風潮
　　　〔『冤魂志』中の説話「蕭続」について／『談藪』と旧北斉系士人社会〕
第十四章　再び『南史』の説話的要素について
　――蕭順之の死に関する記事を手がかりとして――
　一　蕭鸞擁立をめぐる『南史』の記述について　　　
　二　南斉王室における同族対立について
　三　『南史』中の蕭衍像　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　四　旧北斉系士人と李延寿

あとがき――「越境者の肖像」によせて――

Japanese Historiography and the Gold Seal of 57 C.E.: Relic, Text, Object, Fake

Author:
Fogel, Joshua A.

Publication Year:
2013

Publisher:
Leiden: Brill

Abstract:
In the year 57 C.E., the court of Later Han dynasty presented a gold seal to an emissary from somewhere in what is now Japan. The seal soon vanished from history, only to be unearthed in 1784 in Japan. In the subsequent two-plus centuries, nearly 400 books and articles (mostly by Japanese) have addressed every conceivable issue surrounding this small object of gold. Joshua Fogel places the conferment of the seal in inter-Asian diplomacy of the first century and then traces four waves of historical analysis that the seal has undergone since its discovery, as the standards of historical judgment have changed over these years and the investment in the seal’s meaning have changed accordingly.

Table of Contents:

Preliminary Material

Introduction: Historiography and the Biography of an Object

1. Wa-Han or Archipelago-Mainland Relations before 57 c.e.

2. The Material Object

3. Kamei Nanmei: “Politics Is Learning and Learning Is Politics”

4. Commentaries on the Gold Seal in the 1780s: Let a Hundred Schools of Thought Contend

5. Ascendancy of the “Ito no kuni” Reading from the Late Eighteenth Century

6. Revival of Interest in the Gold Seal in the Meiji Era and Miyake Yonekichi’s Breakthrough

7. Modern Science and the Gold Seal

8. Persistent Problem Areas in the Twentieth Century

9. Recent Challenges to the Gold Seal’s Authenticity: Conspiracy Theories and Better Science

10. Conclusion: Institutionalization of the Gold Seal and Future Research

A. Miyake Yonekichi, “A Study of the Seal of the Ruler of the State of Na in Wa under the Han Dynasty”

B. Miyake Yonekichi, “A Critique of the Theory That the Gold Seal [Inscribed] to the Ruler of the State of Na in Wa Is a Forgery”

C. Okazaki Takashi, “Measuring the Gold Seal [Inscribed] to the ‘Ruler of the State of Na in Wa under the Han’ ”

Bibliography

Index

Reconstructing Ancient Korean History: The Formation of Korean-ness in the Shadow of History

Author:
STELLA XU

Publication Date:
2016 May 

Publisher:
Rowman & Littlefield

Abstract:

This book examines the contested re-readings of “Korea” in early Chinese historical records and their influence on the formation of Korean-ness in later periods. The earliest written records on “Koreans” are found in Chinese documents produced during the Han dynasty, from the third century BCE to the third century CE. Since then, these early Chinese records have been used as primary sources for writing early Korean history in Korea, China, and Japan. 

This study analyzes the various reinterpretations and utilizations of these early records that became more diverse by the late nineteenth century, when the reconstruction of ancient history became a crucial part of the formation of Korean national consciousness. Korea’s modern historiography was complicated by a thirty-five year colonial experience (1910–1945) under Japan. During this period, Japanese colonial scholars attempted to depict Korean history as stagnant, heteronymous, and replete with factional strife, while Korean nationalist historians strove to construct an indigenous Korean nation in order to mobilize Koreans’ national consciousness and recover political sovereignty. 

While focused on Korea and Northeast Asia, the links between historiography and political ideology investigated in this study are pertinent to historians in general.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Chapter 1: From Others to Barbarians: The Conceptualization and Evolution of Yi 夷

Chapter 2: Negotiating the Past, Reinterpreting Ancient History: Legitimacy in the Lineage of Ancient Korean History

Chapter 3: Ancient History Reinvented: Another Battleground for National Prestige and Political Legitimacy 

Chapter 4: From a Marxist Universal History to an Ultra-Nationalist Approach: Studies on Ancient History in North Korea

Chapter 5: In the Name of History: Laying Claim to the Historical Sovereignty of Manchuria (Northeast China)

Conclusion: Living with the Legacy of the Past

[Dissertation] Origins, Ancestors, and Imperial Authority in Early Northern Wei Historiography

Author:
Duthie, Nina. 

School:
Columbia University

Publication Year:
2015

Advisor:
Robert Hymes (韓明士)

Degree:
Ph.D.

Abstract:
In this dissertation, I explore Wei shu (魏書) historiography on the early Northern Wei imperial state, which was founded by the Tuoba Xianbei in the late fourth century C.E. In examining the Wei shu narrative of the Northern Wei founding, I illuminate not only the representation of cultural and imperial authority in the reigns of the early Northern Wei emperors, but also investigate historiography on the pre-imperial Tuoba past. I argue that the Wei shu narrative of Tuoba origins and ancestors is constructed from the perspective of the moment of the Northern Wei founding. Or, to view it the other way around, the founding of the Northern Wei imperial state by Tuoba Gui 拓拔珪 signifies the culmination of the Wei shu narrative on the early Tuoba.

This narrative of the early Tuoba past is of course teleological: Essentially everything in this phase of Tuoba historiography leads up to the moment of the Northern Wei imperial founding, including genealogical descent from a son of Huangdi, who is represented as the Xianbei progenitor, in a remote northern wilderness; the continuous succession of Tuoba rulers that followed; and the journeys that brought the Tuoba out of the wilderness and toward the geographical center.

In focusing on the account of the inaugural reign of Tuoba Gui, the Northern Wei founder, and the record of his ritual practice as emperor, I have discovered tensions in Wei shu historiography that I believe signal toward some of the actual cultural contestation that attended the founding of the Northern Wei imperial state. The Wei shu historiography on Buddhism in the early Northern Wei then, I argue, presents an alternative source of authority, one that stands outside both an imperial Han inheritance and a culturally Tuoba tradition.

Link:
http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac%3A186705

Et sinifisert rike?: Nordre Wei-dynastiets stilling i kinesisk historie slik det er fremstilt i engelskspråklig historievitenskap

Author:
Torheim-Sandvik, Ove Pils

Publication Year:
2011

School:
University of Oslo

Abstract:

This is a historiographical study of English language texts concerning history of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Based on available and relevant texts about Chinese history from the end of the nineteenth century until 2010, I will show in this paper how the view of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), in North China, has developed. I will show that there are two main currents: One, starting around 1914, describes Northern Wei as a dynasty that was culturally transformed into a Chinese empire. This means that the accounts of the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty suggests the sinicization of the Empire. This school of thought lasts until 2010, and is especially prominent in the general history books on China. This position is not static, but evolves in the course of the twentieth century. I will also show that this current is inspired by Chinese nationalist movements in the early 1900s, but later evolved to become a generally accepted explanation of the empire. The other school of thought started in the second half of the 1970s, and is both an active and passive resistance to sinicization as an explanation of the Northern Wei Dynasty’s historical development. This resistance came as a result of historical developments in Western science, where historians and the social sciences at this time confronted and questioned the established truths and the great narratives. I will show that this second direction is not uniform, but that one is trying to find new ways to explain the narrative of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Generally, I will show that prior to 1913 there is no unified narrative, but that with the introduction of the narration of sinicization there is a unity until the end of the 1970s. From this point develop several different trends with narratives that explain the Northern Wei Dynasty’s historical development.

Table of Contents:

Innledning

1 386–534 – En kort historie om Nordre Wei

2 1883–1940 – Nordre Wei som kinesisk historie?

3 1940–1978 – Ideen om sinifisering utvikles

4 1976–1996 – Holmgren og hennes samtidige

5 1991–2010 – De siste to tiår

Konklusjon