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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHINESE LITERATURE NATIONAL CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY NO.27
Publication date： 2017-06
Concerning the contemporary studies on the classical Chinese poetry of Landscape, or “Shanshui shi,” the theoretical framework has been largely directed to its relations with the conception of “nature.” And yet, “Ziran,” as still active and widespread in current vernacular usage, means that “so of itself” or “spontaneous” in the classical Chinese thought. The term “Ziran” in literary and philosophical discourse also can extend to mean “that which happens from intelligible causes or in accordance with uniform law,” and hence a kind of spontaneity. On the contrary, the term and the concept of “shanshui” originally refers to two categories of the natural world, that is, mountains and rivers, but its later shift of meaning to denote a perceptual outside world captured by poets is not within the context of the classical Chinese term “Ziran.” In this regard, the rise and its subsequent examinations concerning the poetry of landscape in the classical Chinese literary tradition is in no way to do with the term and concept of “Ziran.” It was not until the first decade of the nineteenth century that the modern conception of nature and its term was introduced into the Chinese discourse, be it literary or philosophical. So far as the documents can be traced, Wang Guowei’s (1877-1927) translation of philosophical writings by the Japanese scholar Genyoku Kuwaki (1874-1946) into Chinese in the year of 1902 might be the first step towards the reception and development of modern knowledge and its scholarship in the field of literary studies. Since then, the issues concerning poetry of landscape have been re-examined under the influence of the concept of nature in its Western sense and meaning.
Theme Thesis Chaoli And Pinli in the Chunqiu Period
In Chunqiu Period, Jinli and Chaoli faded out because the emperor could not maintain his authority. Among the dukes in Chunqiu Period, Qihuan Gong still showed some respect for the emperor, but Jinwen Gong was already insolent in his manner, not to mention the other dukes. At that time, powerful leaders commanded that the dukes of the subordinate allied countries payed tributes to them. This thus formed the Chaoli among dukes, and was paralleled by Pinli, both of which became the main point of the international etiquette in the Spring and Autumn Period. This article aims to illustrate how the dukes practiced Chaoli and Pinli, so as to know more about these ancient rituals in the Chunqiu Period. This paper includes two sections. First, it will show Chaoli among dukes in Zhouli should be taken with a grain of salt. Second, it will examine and compare the rituals of Chaoli and Pinli in Yili, Spring and Autumn Annals, and Three Commentaries on the Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals).
Theme Thesis Xunzi’s Military Theory and Studies of Qi-Lu
Xunzi, born in the later period of the Warring States period, is a follower of Confucius school of thought whose goal is “to assist the sovereign, to follow the law of Yin and Yang, and to promote civilization through education.” Xunzi celebrates the Confucian benevolent virtues as exemplified by the great sage king during his interview with the king of Zhao Xiaocheng (趙孝成王), which is later recorded in the article of “Yibin(議兵).” This paper will explore the relationship of “Yibin” and Confucius school of thought as in “Confucius sanchoji (孔子三朝記)” and “Yanbin (用兵).” Xunzi in his life time travels and stays in Jixia (稷下) for many years, influenced by several military books collected by local scholars, and especially attracted to Liantao (六韜). The purpose of this article is to examine how Xunzi builds his military theory as showcased in “Yibin (議兵)” on the basis of Qi-Lu political thinking and culture such as in “Yanbin” and Liantao.
Theme Thesis On Funeral Ceremony of Zheng Zi-Jia and Shusun Bao of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period
According to Zuo Tradition, after the death of Zheng Zi-Jia, the people of Zheng “destroy Zi-Jia’s coffin and expel his clansmen” as a punishment for his crime of murdering the king. This paper aims to examine the symbols of degradation in funeral ceremony in the Spring and Autumn period, such as “destroying a coffin” and “limu sancun.” Influenced by Du Yu’s studies, scholars over the past few years have believed that “destroying a coffin,” means thinning a coffin. However, according to an archaeological excavation, thinning a coffin could hardly fulfill the intention of degradation, since the specification of an ancient coffin involves not only the thickness of wood but also the different sizes of coffins. The author suggests that the actual practice of destroying a coffin is “splitting a coffin and exposing the body.” As for “limu sancun” in “Death of Zheng Zi-Jia,” collected in the Shanghai Museum bamboo slips, it is not the act of coffin splitting itself, but the act done after the splitting of the coffin. To put it more clearly, the people of Zheng humiliate Zi-Jia and lower his funeral standard by placing his body in a small “3-inch chestnut coffin.” “Daring not exit from the Ding Gate” means that Zheng Zi-Jia is not allowed to be buried outside the Main Gate of West city, and no longer recognized as a nobility. “Being buried under the base of the city” also directly points out that Zi-Jia is regarded as a commoner. All of the above are practices to show degradation in the Spring and Autumn Period.
This article aims to examine Zhai-Jie process in Eastern Zhou Dynasty in terms of two types of ancestor worships: the regular and the irregular. I will discuss first the differences of processes for the emperor, duke, Daifu, Shi in regular ancestor worship, and then examples of irregular ancestor worship. In regular ancestor worship, the Zhai-Jie will last exactly ten days; while in irregular ancestor worship, it usually last less than ten days. Because there are two types of worship, the days of Zhai-Jie are varied in historical documents, and this phenomenon can also be found in the dǎo (禱) in bamboo strips of Chu state. Finally, I will compare the differences of Zhai-Jie between the regular worship and the irregular worship in the hope of clarifying the understanding of Zhai-Jie in Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
There are more than 2,000 pieces of Oracle Bone in Oracle Bone Collections in Lvshun Museum, where Carapaces account for about 330 pieces—14% of the oracle bones in the collection. Carapace fragments are much more complicated than Plastron Fragments and Bovine Scapula Fragments due to their particular shapes. Thanks to the clear rubbing and photographs published in the collection, it contributes a lot to the research of carapace fragments. However, there still are some issues in the organization and grouping of Carapaces in this collection. This paper aims to discuss the material, classification, rubbing, hand copy, and rejoining in Oracle Bone Collections in Lvshun Museum, hoping to help provide insight into Carapaces study for future researchers.
Jinwen Xiaojing and Guwen Xiaojing after Tang Dynasty are both available and widely circulated nowadays. In this paper, each version of Dunhuang and Tulufan Documents of Xiaojing was compared with the versions which are available nowadays. And it can be seen that Jinwen and Guwen both exist in the same version of Dunhuang and Tulufan Documents. According to the previous studies as well as the comparison done in this paper, Zhengzhu, which includes eighteen chapters, and Kongzhuan, which includes twenty two chapters, were lost and replaced by Yuzhu during the period from Liang Dynasty to Tang Dynasty. Yuzhu with eighteen chapters has been regarded as Jinwen Xiaojing ever since, while the version with twenty two chapters revised by Zhu Xi in Song Dynasty has been regarded as Guwen Xiaojing. Thus there have been misunderstandings that every version of Xiaojing with eighteen chapters would be Jinwen, and version with twenty two chapters would be Guwen. The assumption reduces many versions of Xiaojing to only Jinwen and Guwen ever since Song Dynasty. Based on the discovery of Dunhuang and Tulufan Documents, this paper aims to clarify the assumption on different versions of Xiaojing which began to be cierculated in Six Dynasties, Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty.
The present paper is mainly on “Wang Xinzhi’s Death, and How It Saved His Whole Family,” 汪信之一死救全家comparing the huaben with historical documents to find out how the script shows its unique take through the narrative mode with its use of historical references. First we start with the timeline mismatch between the novel and history, looking into the symbolic significance of characters, probing the issue of loyalism raised by the script. And then we will further focus on the insurgent plot in which the main character Wang Xinzhi 汪信之 plays part, and the narration of the corresponding political activities. Conclusively, combing through the narrator’s admiring yet sarcastic tone, we realize that the novel as a political fable exposes the tension between state authority and individuals, critiquing through its narrative mode the idea of loyalism which is meticulously depicted and repeatedly emphasized in the text.
This paper examines various translations of a French “roman policier” (detective novel) entitled Margot la Balafrée (1884) by Fortuné du Boisgobey (1821-1891) in England, Japan and China during the turning point of last century. The translation of the text from French into English, Japanese and Chinese resembles a transnational tour, and this boundary crossing involves a complex negotiation between different cultures, which can be seen in a great number of discrepancies between the original text and its translated versions. This paper firstly argues that the translated versions of the novel can be read in the cultural context of the global trend for popular consumption of exciting and mysterious series stories which were related to the prosperous print culture in big cities. This paper further compares the French, English, Japanese and Chinese versions, observing how these translators rewrite the details of the story according to and under the influence of their own culture, outlook, and translation strategies. The role of the translators can also be seen from the study of the discrepancies among these versions. In the end, this paper will show that, the discrepancies and differences, especially in the Chinese and Japanese versions, illustrate how the translators have struggled between the new and the old, the Western culture and the Eastern culture, revealing their modern cultural imagination. Namely, their translations are not meant to be loyal to the original text, but serve to reflect new purposes in the transcultural journey at the turn of the century.
