Writing and authority in early China / Mark Edward Lewis.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 497-526) and index.

Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter one. Writing the State ; the archaic background ; Laws and registers ; Reports, tallies, and seals ; Writing and the king ; The offices of Zhou ; Conclusion -- Chapter two. Writing the masters ; Scholarly texts ; Scholarly traditions and the State ; Social and economics bases of the traditions ; The master as model ; Conclusion -- Chapter three. Writing the past ; The past in speeches ; The past in political philosophy ; The past in cosmogony ; The past in chronicle ; Conclusion -- Chapter four. Writing the self ; Composing the odes ; Speaking through the odes ; The odes as proof and sanction ; Anthology and authorship ; Conclusion -- Chapter five. The political history of writing ; The mythology of Fu Xi ; The mythology of the Duke of Zhou ; The mythology of Confucius ; Conclusion -- Chapter six. The natural philosophy of writing ; Between divination and philosophy ; The natural philosophy of signs ; Images and writing ; Numbers and writing ; Conclusion -- Chapter seven. The encyclopedic Epoch ; Totality and truth ; Canon and commentary ; State-sponsored compendia ; Sima Qian and universal history ; Sima Xiangru and universal poetry ; The Liu family and the universal library ; Conclusion -- Chapter eight. The empire of writing ; Establishment of the canon ; Triumph of the canon ; Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Works cited -- Index.

Print version record.

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide