Ancient Egypt and Early China: State, Society, and Culture

Author:
Anthony J. Barbieri-Low

Publication date:
July 2021

Publisher:
University of Washington Press

Abstract:

Although they existed more than a millennium apart, the great civilizations of New Kingdom Egypt (ca. 1548–1086 BCE) and Han dynasty China (206 BCE–220 CE) shared intriguing similarities. Both were centered around major, flood-prone rivers—the Nile and the Yellow River—and established complex hydraulic systems to manage their power. Both spread their territories across vast empires that were controlled through warfare and diplomacy and underwent periods of radical reform led by charismatic rulers—the “heretic king” Akhenaten and the vilified reformer Wang Mang. Universal justice was dispensed through courts, and each empire was administered by bureaucracies staffed by highly trained scribes who held special status. Egypt and China each developed elaborate conceptions of an afterlife world and created games of fate that facilitated access to these realms.

This groundbreaking volume offers an innovative comparison of these two civilizations. Through a combination of textual, art historical, and archaeological analyses, Ancient Egypt and Early China reveals shared structural traits of each civilization as well as distinctive features.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

1. The Landscapes of the Nile and Yellow River

2. Empire and Diplomacy

3. Akhenaten, Wang Mang, and the Limits of Reform

4. Legal Principles and the Administration of Justice

5. Scribal Culture in Life and Death

6. Providing a Model Afterlife (coauthored with Marissa A. Stevens)

7. Gaming the Way to Paradise

Epilogue

The Empress in the Pepper Chamber: Zhao Feiyan in History and Fiction

Author:
Olivia Milburn

Publication Date:
May 2021

Publisher: 

University of Washington Press

Abstract:

Zhao Feiyan (45–1 BCE), the second empress appointed by Emperor Cheng of the Han dynasty (207 BCE–220 CE), was born in slavery and trained in the performing arts, a background that made her appointment as empress highly controversial. Subsequent persecution by her political enemies eventually led to her being forced to commit suicide. After her death, her reputation was marred by accusations of vicious scheming, murder of other consorts and their offspring, and relentless promiscuity, punctuated by bouts of extravagant shopping.

This first book-length study of Zhao Feiyan and her literary legacy includes a complete translation of The Scandalous Tale of Zhao Feiyan (Zhao Feiyan waizhuan 趙飛燕外傳), a Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) erotic novella that describes in great detail the decadent lifestyle enjoyed by imperial favorites in the harem of Emperor Cheng. This landmark text was crucial for establishing writings about palace women as the accepted forum for discussing sexual matters, including fetishism, obsession, jealousy, incompatibility in marriage, and so on. Using historical documentation, Olivia Milburn reconstructs the evolution of Zhao Feiyan’s story and illuminates the broader context of palace life for women and the novella’s social influence.

Table of Contents:

The Empress in the Pepper Chamber
The Scandalous Tale of Zhao Feiyan
Zhao Feiyan's Biography in Historical Sources
Interpreting The Scandalous Tale
Gendering Empress Zhao
Concluding Remarks

ANNOUNCEMENT: About my Facebook Page and my blog

To my dear blog subscribers and Facebook Page followers,

I am sorry to inform you that after a  2-months of Facebook hiatus, I decided to deactivate my FB Page on June 7. One simple reason is that I am no longer interested in managing my FB Page and don't want to receive more FB ads about how to reach more potential "clients."

While my FB Page will go away soon, I would continue to update my blog that is considered by some kind people to be useful to the field. So if you would like to get information about new books related to pre-8th century China, you can go to my blog and follow it via email. Or, just visit my blog whenever you are available.

One more thing about how to subscribe to my blog via email. Since 2012, I've been loyal to Google's Blogger because its layout is very simple. All I want from my blog is that I can catalog and find information in a very effective way and Blogger can satisfy me with that. However, the new Blogger interface 2020 is not user-friendly anymore. Moreover,  Blogger notified me weeks ago that Google's Feedburner will shut down in July, which means that my subscriber will not receive any email from my blog then and this really bothers me. So far, I found an alternative called Mailchimp Signup Form for my blog subscribers. If you are already a subscriber, don't need to do anything (hope Mailchimp Signup Form will work). But if you are a new one, please go to my blog and fill up the form (down the right side of my blog).

If you don't want to follow my blog but are still interested in new releases on early China, I highly recommend checking out the annual bibliography I compile for the journal Early China every year since 2016.

Here is the link to my blog: http://earlychinasinology.blogspot.com/

Here is the link to Early China: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/early-china

Thank you very much for your support and encouragement over the years!

[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

The Essentials of Governance 貞觀政要

Author:
Wu Jing 吳兢

Editors and Translators: 
Hilde De Weerdt, Glen Dudbridge, Gabe van Beijeren

Publisher: 

Cambridge University Press

Publication date:

January 2021

Abstract:
In the eighth century, Wu Jing selected exchanges between Emperor Taizong and his ministers that he deemed key to good governance. This collection of dialogues has been used for the education of emperors, political elites and general readers ever since, and is a standard reference work in East Asian political thought. Consisting of ten volumes, subdivided into forty topics, The Essentials of Governance addresses core themes of Chinese thinking about the politics of power, from the body politic, presenting and receiving criticism, recruitment, the education of the imperial clan, political virtues and vices, to cultural policy, agriculture, law, taxation, border policy, and how to avoid disaster and dynastic fall. Presented with introductory commentary that offers insights into its historical context and global reception, this accessible and reliable translation brings together ten scholars of Chinese intellectual history to offer a nuanced edition that preserves the organisation, tone and flow of the original.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Essentials of Governance from the Reign of Constancy Revealed in Context 

Hilde De Weerdt and David McMullen

Prefaces

Presentation of The Essentials of Governance from the Reign of Constancy Revealed Hilde De Weerdt

Preface to The Essentials of Governance from the Reign of Constancy Revealed Hilde De Weerdt

Volume I; 

1. The Way of the Sovereign Jack W. Chen; 

2. The Organization of Governance Jack W. Chen; 

Volume II; 

3. Employing the Wise Hilde De Weerdt; 

4. Seeking Criticism Hilde De Weerdt; 

5. Accepting Criticism Hilde De Weerdt

Volume III; 

6. Lessons from the Past for Sovereign and Officials Chu Mingkin; 

7. On Selecting Officials Oliver Moor; 

8. On Enfieffment David McMullen; 

Volume IV; 

9. On Determining the Roles of the Crown Prince and the Princes David McMullen; 

10. On Respecting Tutors David McMullen; 

11. Instructing and Warning the Crown Prince and the Princes David McMullen; 

12. Reproving the Crown Prince David McMullen; 

Volume V; 

13. On Humaneness and Righteousness Anthony DeBlasi; 

14. On Loyalty and Righteousness Anthony DeBlasi; 

15. On Filial Piety and Friendship Anthony DeBlasi; 

16. On Impartiality Anthony DeBlasi; 

17. On Sincerity and Trustworthiness Anthony DeBlasi; 

Volume VI; 

18. On Frugality and Moderation Gabe van Beijeren; 

19. On Modesty and Deference Gabe van Beijeren; 

20. On Being Humane and Compassionate Gabe van Beijeren; 

21. Caution in One's Preferences Anna M. Shields; 

22. Caution in Speech Anna M. Shields; 

23. Obstructing Slander and Sycophancy Anna M. Shields; 

24. On Regretting One's Faults Anna M. Shields; 

25. On Profligacy and Recklessness Jack W. Chen; 

26. On Greed and Baseness Jack W. Chen; 

Volume VII; 

27. Honoring Classicist Scholarship Chu Mingkin; 

28. On Literature and History Chu Mingkin; 

29. On Rites and Music Chu Mingkin; 

Volume VIII; 

30. Dedication to Agriculture Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

31. On Punishment and Law Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

32. On Amnesties Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

33. On Tribute Presentations Oliver Moor; 

34. Recognizing the Rise and Fall of Dynasties Hilde De Weerdt; 

Volume IX; 

35. Debates about Punitive Expeditions Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

36. Debates about Pacifying the Borders Tineke D'Haeseleer; 

Volume X; 

37. On Tours Oliver Moor; 

38. On Hunting Oliver Moor; 

39. On Auspicious and Inauspicious Signs Gabe van Beijeren; 

40. On Remaining Vigilant until the End Gabe van Beijeren

Dramatis Personae

(via Hilde De Weerdt)

ReOrienting Histories of Medicine: Encounters along the Silk Roads

Author:
Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim 

Publisher: 
Bloomsbury Academic

Publication date:
January 28, 2021

Abstract:
It is rarely appreciated how much of the history of Eurasian medicine in the premodern period hinges on cross-cultural interactions and knowledge transmissions. Using manuscripts found in key Eurasian nodes of the medieval world – Dunhuang, Kucha, the Cairo Genizah and Tabriz – the book analyses a number of case-studies of Eurasian medical encounters, giving a voice to places, languages, people and narratives which were once prominent but have gone silent.

This is an important book for those interested in the history of medicine and the transmissions of knowledge that have taken place over the course of global history.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Medical Encounters along the Silk Roads
1. Narrating Eurasian Origins of Medical Knowledge
2. Of Dice and Medicine: Interactions in Central Asian 'Contact Zones'
3. Myrobalans: The Making of a Eurasian Panacea
4. Tibetan Moxa-Cautery from Dunhuang: Practices and Images on the Move
5. Medicine of the Bakhshis: Cross-Pollinations in Buddhist Iran
Afterword