Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (502-557)
The Liang dynasty (502–557) is one of the most brilliant and creative periods in Chinese history and one of the most underestimated and misunderstood. Under the Liang, literary activities, such as writing, editing, anthologizing, and cataloguing, were pursued on an unprecedented scale, yet the works of this era are often dismissed as “decadent” and no more than a shallow prelude to the glories of the Tang.

This book is devoted to contextualizing the literary culture of this era—not only the literary works themselves but also the physical process of literary production such as the copying and transmitting of texts; activities such as book collecting, anthologizing, cataloguing, and various forms of literary scholarship; and the intricate interaction of religion, particularly Buddhism, and literature. Its aim is to explore the impact of social and political structure on the literary world.

1112575965
Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (502-557)
The Liang dynasty (502–557) is one of the most brilliant and creative periods in Chinese history and one of the most underestimated and misunderstood. Under the Liang, literary activities, such as writing, editing, anthologizing, and cataloguing, were pursued on an unprecedented scale, yet the works of this era are often dismissed as “decadent” and no more than a shallow prelude to the glories of the Tang.

This book is devoted to contextualizing the literary culture of this era—not only the literary works themselves but also the physical process of literary production such as the copying and transmitting of texts; activities such as book collecting, anthologizing, cataloguing, and various forms of literary scholarship; and the intricate interaction of religion, particularly Buddhism, and literature. Its aim is to explore the impact of social and political structure on the literary world.

49.5 In Stock
Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (502-557)

Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (502-557)

by Xiaofei Tian
Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (502-557)

Beacon Fire and Shooting Star: The Literary Culture of the Liang (502-557)

by Xiaofei Tian

Hardcover

$49.50 
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Overview

The Liang dynasty (502–557) is one of the most brilliant and creative periods in Chinese history and one of the most underestimated and misunderstood. Under the Liang, literary activities, such as writing, editing, anthologizing, and cataloguing, were pursued on an unprecedented scale, yet the works of this era are often dismissed as “decadent” and no more than a shallow prelude to the glories of the Tang.

This book is devoted to contextualizing the literary culture of this era—not only the literary works themselves but also the physical process of literary production such as the copying and transmitting of texts; activities such as book collecting, anthologizing, cataloguing, and various forms of literary scholarship; and the intricate interaction of religion, particularly Buddhism, and literature. Its aim is to explore the impact of social and political structure on the literary world.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780674026025
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Publication date: 12/30/2007
Series: Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series , #63
Pages: 450
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.25(d)

About the Author

Xiaofei Tian is Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Note on Sources Introduction
1. The Rule of Emperor Wu
2. Mapping the Cultural World (I): Managing Texts
3. Mapping the Cultural World (II): Contextualizing Taste
4. The Pleasure of the Superfluous: Palace Style Poetry and Resistance to Canonization
5. Illusion and Illumination: A New Poetics of Seeing
6. "Suppression of the Light": Xiao Gang, Prince and Poet
7. The Cultural Construction of the North and South
8. Parting Ways Epilogue: The Aftermath and the Romanticization of the Liang Works Cited Index

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