The Cloudy Mirror: Tension and Conflict in the Writings of Sima Qian / Edition 1

by Stephen W. Durrant

Overview

Sima Qian's writings have influenced the Chinese for over 2,000 years and still serve as a fiscal source of historical information about China.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791426562
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	09/28/1995
Series:	SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	226
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Stephen W. Durrant is Associate Professor of Chinese at the University of Oregon. He has also written The Tale of the Nisan Shaman: A Manchu Folk Epic.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. The Frustration of the Second Confucius

2. Sima Qian's Confucius

3. Sima Qian, the Six Arts, and Spring and Autumn Annals

4. Dying Fathers and Living Memories

5. (Wo)men with(out) Names

6. Ideologue versus Narrator

Epilogue

Appendix: Chronology of Sima Qian's Life

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

"The book is a wonderful amalgam of classical, historical, and literary scholarship. It is well-reasoned, asks intelligent questions about the work and life of Sima Qian. It will become the major English language study of the Records of the Historian, the earliest and most important of the dynastic histories of China. This book has moments of brilliance. It ties classical sources in the past together in a way that is completely novel and original. The author has excellent insight into the relationships between history and literature." — Stephen West, University of California, Berkeley

"The Shiji in the past has been studied primarily as a work of history. But its influence in China was as much literary as historical. Durrant's brilliant analysis shows why the work was so highly regarded as a piece of literature. It's really a tour de force and will be a model for other studies of other early narrative texts. My compliments to Professor Durrant!" — William H. Nienhauser, Jr., University of Wisconsin-Madison

From the Publisher