The Human Tradition in Premodern China

by Kenneth J. Hammond New Mexico State University (Editor), Ina Asim (Contribution by), Anthony Deblasi (Contribution by), Peter Ditmanson Pembroke College, Univers (Contribution by), Robert W. Foster (Contribution by)

Overview

The Human Tradition in Premodern China is a collection of biographical essays revealing the variety and complexity of human experience in China from the earliest historical times to the dawn of the modern age.

China is a vast country with a long history, and one which is by itself as complex as the history of Europe. This broad expanse of time and space in Chinese history has largely been approached in terms of narrative political and cultural history in most books. The reigns of emperors and the thoughts of the great masters such as Confucius or Laozi have been the principal focus. Yet the history of the Chinese, as with any great people, is built up from the lives of individuals, families, groups, and movements. By presenting life stories of individuals ranging from ancient court diviners to late imperial merchants to women in various periods, this engaging anthology highlights aspects of Chinese social, political and intellectual history not usually addressed. Additionally, The Human Tradition in Premodern China broadens the common image and understanding of society based on the dominant elite male discourse.

Rich in new perspective and new scholarship, The Human Tradition in Premodern China is an ideal introduction to Chinese history, East Asian history, and world history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461665502
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/01/2002
Series:	The Human Tradition around the World series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	172
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Kenneth J. Hammond is associate professor of history at New Mexico State University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Chronology
Chapter 2 Introduction
Chapter 3 The Royal Consort Fu Hao of the Shang, c. 1200 B.C.E.
Chapter 4 Li Si: Chancellor of the Universe
Chapter 5 Lives and Times of the Political Public at the End of the Han
Chapter 6 Biography of Guan Lu
Chapter 7 Quan Deyu and the Spread of Elite Culture in Tang China
Chapter 8 Yue Fei, 1103-1141
Chapter 9 Liu Chenweng: Ways of Being a Local Gentleman in Southern Song and Yuan China
Chapter 10 Fang Xiaoru: Moralistic Politics in the Early Ming
Chapter 11 The Eunuch Wang Zhen and the Ming Dynasty
Chapter 12 The Merchant Wang Zhen, 1424-1495
Chapter 13 Websites
Chapter 14 Index

Editorial Reviews

A pleasure to read.
—Adjunct Associate Professor of Chinese History, University of California, San Diego

Suzanne Cahill

Written and edited at a consistently high scholarly standard, this collection will introduce readers to some unforgettable personages.
—Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History, Harvard University

Philip A. Kuhn

Presents ten readings addressing the life stories of a selection of premodern Chinese individuals including elites, women, politicos, merchants, a eunuch, and others, highlighting aspects of the era's social, political, and intellectual history. Suitable for introductory courses in Chinese history, East Asian history, and world history. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

In this unique presentation of the Chinese past, ten distinguished younger historians turn their hand to biography and reconstruct the lives of one woman and nine men dispersed across almost three millennia of recorded history. Each biography is wonderfully different from the next, both in content and in style. Place them side by side and they become a mural on which individuals, facing a world never of their own making, have been able to fashion lives of meaning.

Timothy Brook

A welcome addition to our sources for the study of Chinese history, this book explores the diversity and complexity of life in China over a 2,700-year period and puts a human face on the processes and conflict of history. The subjects are well-chosen and unusually balanced with regard to class, gender, and occupation and include central as well as marginal figures. This will make a fine textbook and will also be a pleasure to read.--Suzanne Cahill, University of California, San Diego

In this unique presentation of the Chinese past, ten distinguished younger historians turn their hand to biography and reconstruct the lives of one woman and nine men dispersed across almost three millennia of recorded history. Each biography is wonderfully different from the next, both in content and in style. Place them side by side and they become a mural on which individuals, facing a world never of their own making, have been able to fashion lives of meaning.--Timothy Brook, University of Toronto, author of The Confusions of Pleasure

Professor Kenneth Hammond has assembled a marvelous kaleidoscope of Chinese elite personalities of the imperial period in The Human Tradition in Premodern China. These vivid essays, by a talented group of young experts, bring to life the variety of experiences to be found in China's great historical storehouse of humanity. Written and edited at a consistently high scholarly standard, this collection will introduce college students as well as general readers to some unforgettable personages.--Philip A. Kuhn, Harvard University

From the Publisher