Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China

Published by University of Hawaii Press 1999

Defining Chu

Image and Reality in Ancient China

Edited by: Constance A. Cook and John S. Major

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824862169

Overview
Contents

About this book

Scholars agree that the "southern" culture of China, roughly identifiable with the state of Chu during the period between 700 and 200 B.C.E., is of great importance in the subsequent development of Chinese culture. Early Han artists and writers from the first century B.C.E. were encouraged to preserve "exotic" and "barbaric" Chu images and songs as an antidote to the harsh laws of the Qin. This somewhat disparaging view of the Chu has persisted to modern times despite material remains that reveal a culture possessing a level of sophistication equal to (or surpassing) that of contemporary northern (Confucian) civilization. Splendid works of art, excavated in modern Hubei and Henan, along with literary, religious, and historical texts, attest to the complexity and distinctiveness of Chu culture; yet the nature of that distinctiveness and its significance in the history of China have never been adequately addressed. This book, the first in a Western language to attempt such a broad and in-depth analysis of a single Chinese state, traces the evolution of the Chu from a vassal state of Zhou in the Spring and Autumn period to its rise and fall as a great hegemonic kingdom in the Warring States period and its eventual resurgence in the early Han dynasty.

Defining Chu begins with an overview of the historical geography, an outline of archaeological evidence for Chu history, and an appreciation of Chu art. Following chapters examine issues of state and society: the ideology of the ruling class, legal procedures, popular culture, and daily life. The final section surveys Chu religion and literature and includes an analysis of the Chuci, the great anthology of Chu poetry, and its impact on mainstream Chinese literature.

A translation of the "Chu Silk Manuscript" is appended. This document has intrigued scholars since its discovery in Changsha some sixty years ago. The inclusion of this rare and difficult text, available for the first time in an effective and accessible translation, will make this volume indispensable to students and scholars of early Chinese history and thought.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface: What Does “Defining Chu” Mean? Constance A. Cook and John S. Major Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Constance A. Cook and Barry B. Blakeley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I: Perspectives in Defining Chu Culture
1. The Geography of Chu Barry B. Blakeley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
2. Chu Culture: An Archaeological Overview Xu Shaohua Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
3. Chu Art: Link between the Old and New Jenny F. So Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
Part II: State and Society
4. Chu Society and State: Image versus Reality Barry B. Blakeley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
5. The Ideology of the Chu Ruling Class: Ritual Rhetoric and Bronze Inscriptions Constance A. Cook Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	67
6. Chu Law in Action: Legal Documents from Tomb 2 at Baoshan Susan Weld Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
7. Towns and Trade: Cultural Diversity and Chu Daily Life Heather A. Peters Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
Part III: The Spirit of Chu
8. Characteristics of Late Chu Religion John S. Major Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
9. Monkeys, Shamans, Emperors, and Poets: The Chuci and Images of Chu during the Han Dynasty Gopal Sukhu Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
Conclusion John S. Major Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
Appendix: Translation of the Chu Silk Manuscript Li Ling and Constance A. Cook Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241

Language: English
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 272
Illustrations
- Other: color & b/w illus.

eBook

Published: July 31, 2004
ISBN: 9780824862169