Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

A Song Dynasty “Naturalist” Explores China’s Southwestern “Contact Zone”

A Song Dynasty “Naturalist” Explores China’s Southwestern “Contact Zone” 400 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.4,2010 havingtwosegmentsoftextaligned.IagreethattheShuihubandits-to-Tang/Qing chancellorstransformationbringstotheforeissuesofloyaltyandpoliticalengagement,specificallyasinclinedtowardservicetotheQing.However,forthisreader, LiuYuan'stextis,intheend,mostremarkableforthecreativityoftheauthor's juxtapositionsandthemarkedsenseofpastichethroughout.Theintermediavisual playsevidentinLiu'sprefacedesigns,asBurkus-Chassonpointsout,seempartly derivedfromprecedentsintheFangshi Mopu(1590)and,onemightadd,Min Qiji's1644Xixiang ji.LiuYuan'sselectionofChenHongshou'sfigurestyle(perhaps themosthigh-artversionoffigurativeprintimagerycirculatingatthetime)and theappropriationofwittymarginalstill-lifecomponentsfromtheearliertextSui Yangdi yanshimayhavebeenasmuchduetofashionandtheappealofcogent visualformulationsastoobscurereferencestothepre-Tangmixedloyalitiesofa fewoftheseofficials.Similarly,thattheDuFucoupletssuggestthelaterfallofthe Tangandthedissolutionofthestatetheseofficialshelpedestablishmaybestrainingthecase.WouldthismeanthattheeventualfalloftheQingwasalsoinLiu Yuan'spurview?SuchasuggestionwouldnothaveendearedLiuYuantotheQing rulers,forhimakeygoal.Certainly,DuFuwasaTangfigurewhoservedthe court,andhewasassociatedwithintegrityandconcernforthestate--thismaybe reasonenoughforcitinghisverse.ToreadinLiu'sprogramauniversalizing historyoftheriseandfallofdynastiesmaysimplybegoingtoofar,anditdiffuses theactualpro-Qingsentimentintheworkthatmuchoftheparatext,andliterary responsetoLiuYuan'swork,makesclear. TamaraH.Bentley Tamara H. Bentley is an associate professor of Asian art at Colorado College. She has published articles on the international circulation of prints in circa 1600 ( InternationalJournaloftheHumanities, 2008) and Chen Hongshou's printed playing cards (ArtibusAsiae, fall 2009), and she has a book titled TheFigurative WorksofChenHongshou forthcoming (Ashgate Publishing, 2012). © 2012 by University of Hawai`i Press JamesM.Hargett,translator.Treatises of the Supervisor and Guardian of the Cinnamon Sea.Seattle:UniversityofWashingtonPress,2011.lxvi, 349 pages.Hardcover$80.00,isbn978-0-295-99078-1.Paperback$40.00, isbn978-0-295-99079-8. Features 401 ThepublicationofJamesHargett'scompleteandannotatedEnglishtranslationof theTreatises of the Supervisor and Guardian of the Cinnamon SeabytheUniversity ofWashingtonPressstandsasamajormilestoneinthefieldofsinologyaswellas inHargett'sprolificcareer.Withthiswork,Hargetthassucceededinproviding translationsforallfourofthemajorproseworksofthetwelfth-centurytraveler andliteratusFanChengda(1126­1193).TheseincludeFan'sDiary of Grasping the Carriage Reigns(1170),Diary of Mounting a Simurgh (1172),Diary of a Boat Trip to Wu (1177),andnowtheTreatise (1175).1Fan'sthirty-plus-yearofficialcareertook himtonearlyeverycorneroftheSouthernSongempire,includingthenorthern borderwiththecompetingJurchenJindynasty(1115­1234)aswellasintothe expandingsouthwesternfrontier.AsFannoteshimselfintheTreatises,"Iwasborn inEasternWubutinthenorthservedinYouandJi,inthesouthresidedinJiao andGuang,andinthewestheldofficebelowtheMinMountainsandMount Emei"(p.8).IntheTreatises,Fanrecordedhisfirsthandobservationsofthematerialculture,customs,andgovernmentaladministrationofthesouth estern w frontierlocatedintheGuangnanWesternCircuit(modern-dayGuangxiprovince),withspecialreferencetothevariousnon-ChineseManpeopleswhoinhabitedthatgeneralregionandlandsnearby,includingHainanisland.Assuch, Hargett'sfelicitous,lucid,andthoroughlyresearchedtranslationwillbeofparticularinteresttospecialistsinthefieldsofChinesehistory,geography,andliterature ofthemiddleperiod.Morebroadlyspeaking,astheearliestandmostdetailed proseworkintheChinesetraditiondescribingthesouthwesternfrontierofthe ChineseempireandtheinteractiontherebetweenHanChineseandnon-Chinese peoples,thistranslationshouldalsodrawtheattentionofscholarsinterestedin comparativefrontiersand"contactzones"or"socialspaceswheredisparateculturesmeet,clash,andgrapplewitheachother,"toborrowatermfromMary LouisePratt.2 Hargett'sworkisdividedintotwoparts,ascholarlyintroductionandthe completeannotatedtranslation.ThesubstantialintroductionaimstoplaceFan's workinitshistoricalandculturalcontext,aswellastoconsiderthegenericaffiliationandlanguageoftheTreatises.HargettaidsthereaderinsituatingFan'sTreatise byprovidingabriefhistoryoftheconquestandcolonizationofthesouthwestern regionsknownas"beyondthemountainrange"(lingwai),comprising m odern-dayGuangxiandGuangdong,byasuccessionofChinesedynasties beginningwiththeQin(221­207b.c.e.)andHan(206b.c.e.­220c.e.)dynastiesof earlyChinaandextendingtotheTang(618­907c.e.)andSong(960­1279c.e.) duringthemiddleperiod.Withinthisintroduction,themostimportantpointfor understandingthesouthwesternfrontieroftheSongempire,asitcametobeby thetwelfthcentury,isHargett'sintroductiontothebridle-and-halterpoliticaladministrativeunitsthroughwhichtheSouthernSonggovernmentadministered theGuangnanWesternCircuit,followingapracticeestablishedduringtheTang dynasty.TheseunitsallowedtheSonggovernmenttoestablishaloosereignon 402 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.4,2010 territoryonthesouthwesternfrontierwithoutincurringthehighexpensesnecessarytomaintainahighlymilitarizedborder.Hargettsummarizesthatinthe bridle-and-halterunits,"willingorsubmissivelocalpeoplewereorganizedbythe SongintoaChineseadministrativehierarchy,usuallyheadedbyhereditarylocal chiefswhohadnear-absolutecontroloverlanddistributionbutwhoweresubordinatetoChinesecivilandmilitaryauthorityintheregion"(p.xxvi).Furthermore,Hargettstatesthatsuchunitsalsoentaileda"civilizing"impulse,for"the Chinesehopedthissystemwould`convert'or`Confucianize'thevariousborder peoplestoa`cultured'Chineselifestyle"(p.xxvii).Thebridle-and-haltersystemis importantfirsttounderstandingthenatureofChineseruleoverthesouthwestern frontierinthetwelfthcentury.AsHargettrightlypointsout,thiswasnotasituationoftheoutrightdominationoflocalpeoplesbyagrowingHanChinesemajority,butratherasystemthataimedtomaximizeitscontrolinthesouthwhile minimizingmilitaryconflictusinglimitedmaterialandhumanresourcesofthe Songadministration(pp.xxvi­xxviii).RuthMostern'srecentstudyofthespatial organizationoftheSongstatehasdocumentedhowboththeNorthernandSouthernSongdynastiessoughttomaintainamoreflexibleadministrativeholdonthe southwesternfrontierinordertofundthemoreintensiveandexpensiveborder withnorthernregimes.3Thebridle-and-haltersystemisalsoimportanttounderstandingthecategoriesthatFanemploystodescribethethingsandpeopleofthe southwesternregionwhereheserved.Asweshallsee,thesethingsandpeoplefor Fanseemtobebothfamiliarandforeignatthesametime.Thecontrastingaimsof thebridle-and-haltersystem--thatis,limitedautonomycombinedwithultimate Chinesecontroloverandthecivilizingoflocalindigenouspeoples--established thesocialrelationshipbetweenFanandthesubjectsofhisTreatisesasalternatingly withinarm'slengthortotallyforeign.Thispoliticalsystemandsocialrelationship canprobablyaccountforthefactthatFan'sTreatisesarestructuredaroundcategorizingthingsandpeopleoftheregiononslidingscalesofdifference. Followinghisintroductiontothehistoricalandadministrativecontextof Fan'sTreatises,Hargettintroducestheauthorandhisfourmajorproseworksand thenturnstoconsiderhowbesttocharacterizetheTreatisesgenericallyand rhetoricallyinrelationtoChineseliterarytradition.Hargettfirstcomparesand contraststheTreatiseswithanumberofimportantliterarygenresinaneffortto triangulatetheirgenericidentity.HenotesthattheTreatisesaremadeupofthirteensections,eachmarkedbytheverb"torecord"(zhi )intheirtitleandthat theyfollowthepatternof"treatiseonX"where"X"isaparticularkindofobject, naturalorman-made,orgroupofpeople: 1.precipice-grottoes 2.metalsandstones 3.aromatics 4.wines 5.implements 6.birds http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png China Review International University of Hawai'I Press

A Song Dynasty “Naturalist” Explores China’s Southwestern “Contact Zone”

Ridgway, Benjamin B.
China Review International , Volume 17 (4) – Aug 9, 2010
Download PDF
8 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/university-of-hawai-i-press/a-song-dynasty-naturalist-explores-china-s-southwestern-contact-zone-B0aD0pKp02

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-9367
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

400 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.4,2010 havingtwosegmentsoftextaligned.IagreethattheShuihubandits-to-Tang/Qing chancellorstransformationbringstotheforeissuesofloyaltyandpoliticalengagement,specificallyasinclinedtowardservicetotheQing.However,forthisreader, LiuYuan'stextis,intheend,mostremarkableforthecreativityoftheauthor's juxtapositionsandthemarkedsenseofpastichethroughout.Theintermediavisual playsevidentinLiu'sprefacedesigns,asBurkus-Chassonpointsout,seempartly derivedfromprecedentsintheFangshi Mopu(1590)and,onemightadd,Min Qiji's1644Xixiang ji.LiuYuan'sselectionofChenHongshou'sfigurestyle(perhaps themosthigh-artversionoffigurativeprintimagerycirculatingatthetime)and theappropriationofwittymarginalstill-lifecomponentsfromtheearliertextSui Yangdi yanshimayhavebeenasmuchduetofashionandtheappealofcogent visualformulationsastoobscurereferencestothepre-Tangmixedloyalitiesofa fewoftheseofficials.Similarly,thattheDuFucoupletssuggestthelaterfallofthe Tangandthedissolutionofthestatetheseofficialshelpedestablishmaybestrainingthecase.WouldthismeanthattheeventualfalloftheQingwasalsoinLiu Yuan'spurview?SuchasuggestionwouldnothaveendearedLiuYuantotheQing rulers,forhimakeygoal.Certainly,DuFuwasaTangfigurewhoservedthe court,andhewasassociatedwithintegrityandconcernforthestate--thismaybe reasonenoughforcitinghisverse.ToreadinLiu'sprogramauniversalizing historyoftheriseandfallofdynastiesmaysimplybegoingtoofar,anditdiffuses theactualpro-Qingsentimentintheworkthatmuchoftheparatext,andliterary responsetoLiuYuan'swork,makesclear. TamaraH.Bentley Tamara H. Bentley is an associate professor of Asian art at Colorado College. She has published articles on the international circulation of prints in circa 1600 ( InternationalJournaloftheHumanities, 2008) and Chen Hongshou's printed playing cards (ArtibusAsiae, fall 2009), and she has a book titled TheFigurative WorksofChenHongshou forthcoming (Ashgate Publishing, 2012). © 2012 by University of Hawai`i Press JamesM.Hargett,translator.Treatises of the Supervisor and Guardian of the Cinnamon Sea.Seattle:UniversityofWashingtonPress,2011.lxvi, 349 pages.Hardcover$80.00,isbn978-0-295-99078-1.Paperback$40.00, isbn978-0-295-99079-8. Features 401 ThepublicationofJamesHargett'scompleteandannotatedEnglishtranslationof theTreatises of the Supervisor and Guardian of the Cinnamon SeabytheUniversity ofWashingtonPressstandsasamajormilestoneinthefieldofsinologyaswellas inHargett'sprolificcareer.Withthiswork,Hargetthassucceededinproviding translationsforallfourofthemajorproseworksofthetwelfth-centurytraveler andliteratusFanChengda(1126­1193).TheseincludeFan'sDiary of Grasping the Carriage Reigns(1170),Diary of Mounting a Simurgh (1172),Diary of a Boat Trip to Wu (1177),andnowtheTreatise (1175).1Fan'sthirty-plus-yearofficialcareertook himtonearlyeverycorneroftheSouthernSongempire,includingthenorthern borderwiththecompetingJurchenJindynasty(1115­1234)aswellasintothe expandingsouthwesternfrontier.AsFannoteshimselfintheTreatises,"Iwasborn inEasternWubutinthenorthservedinYouandJi,inthesouthresidedinJiao andGuang,andinthewestheldofficebelowtheMinMountainsandMount Emei"(p.8).IntheTreatises,Fanrecordedhisfirsthandobservationsofthematerialculture,customs,andgovernmentaladministrationofthesouth estern w frontierlocatedintheGuangnanWesternCircuit(modern-dayGuangxiprovince),withspecialreferencetothevariousnon-ChineseManpeopleswhoinhabitedthatgeneralregionandlandsnearby,includingHainanisland.Assuch, Hargett'sfelicitous,lucid,andthoroughlyresearchedtranslationwillbeofparticularinteresttospecialistsinthefieldsofChinesehistory,geography,andliterature ofthemiddleperiod.Morebroadlyspeaking,astheearliestandmostdetailed proseworkintheChinesetraditiondescribingthesouthwesternfrontierofthe ChineseempireandtheinteractiontherebetweenHanChineseandnon-Chinese peoples,thistranslationshouldalsodrawtheattentionofscholarsinterestedin comparativefrontiersand"contactzones"or"socialspaceswheredisparateculturesmeet,clash,andgrapplewitheachother,"toborrowatermfromMary LouisePratt.2 Hargett'sworkisdividedintotwoparts,ascholarlyintroductionandthe completeannotatedtranslation.ThesubstantialintroductionaimstoplaceFan's workinitshistoricalandculturalcontext,aswellastoconsiderthegenericaffiliationandlanguageoftheTreatises.HargettaidsthereaderinsituatingFan'sTreatise byprovidingabriefhistoryoftheconquestandcolonizationofthesouthwestern regionsknownas"beyondthemountainrange"(lingwai),comprising m odern-dayGuangxiandGuangdong,byasuccessionofChinesedynasties beginningwiththeQin(221­207b.c.e.)andHan(206b.c.e.­220c.e.)dynastiesof earlyChinaandextendingtotheTang(618­907c.e.)andSong(960­1279c.e.) duringthemiddleperiod.Withinthisintroduction,themostimportantpointfor understandingthesouthwesternfrontieroftheSongempire,asitcametobeby thetwelfthcentury,isHargett'sintroductiontothebridle-and-halterpoliticaladministrativeunitsthroughwhichtheSouthernSonggovernmentadministered theGuangnanWesternCircuit,followingapracticeestablishedduringtheTang dynasty.TheseunitsallowedtheSonggovernmenttoestablishaloosereignon 402 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.4,2010 territoryonthesouthwesternfrontierwithoutincurringthehighexpensesnecessarytomaintainahighlymilitarizedborder.Hargettsummarizesthatinthe bridle-and-halterunits,"willingorsubmissivelocalpeoplewereorganizedbythe SongintoaChineseadministrativehierarchy,usuallyheadedbyhereditarylocal chiefswhohadnear-absolutecontroloverlanddistributionbutwhoweresubordinatetoChinesecivilandmilitaryauthorityintheregion"(p.xxvi).Furthermore,Hargettstatesthatsuchunitsalsoentaileda"civilizing"impulse,for"the Chinesehopedthissystemwould`convert'or`Confucianize'thevariousborder peoplestoa`cultured'Chineselifestyle"(p.xxvii).Thebridle-and-haltersystemis importantfirsttounderstandingthenatureofChineseruleoverthesouthwestern frontierinthetwelfthcentury.AsHargettrightlypointsout,thiswasnotasituationoftheoutrightdominationoflocalpeoplesbyagrowingHanChinesemajority,butratherasystemthataimedtomaximizeitscontrolinthesouthwhile minimizingmilitaryconflictusinglimitedmaterialandhumanresourcesofthe Songadministration(pp.xxvi­xxviii).RuthMostern'srecentstudyofthespatial organizationoftheSongstatehasdocumentedhowboththeNorthernandSouthernSongdynastiessoughttomaintainamoreflexibleadministrativeholdonthe southwesternfrontierinordertofundthemoreintensiveandexpensiveborder withnorthernregimes.3Thebridle-and-haltersystemisalsoimportanttounderstandingthecategoriesthatFanemploystodescribethethingsandpeopleofthe southwesternregionwhereheserved.Asweshallsee,thesethingsandpeoplefor Fanseemtobebothfamiliarandforeignatthesametime.Thecontrastingaimsof thebridle-and-haltersystem--thatis,limitedautonomycombinedwithultimate Chinesecontroloverandthecivilizingoflocalindigenouspeoples--established thesocialrelationshipbetweenFanandthesubjectsofhisTreatisesasalternatingly withinarm'slengthortotallyforeign.Thispoliticalsystemandsocialrelationship canprobablyaccountforthefactthatFan'sTreatisesarestructuredaroundcategorizingthingsandpeopleoftheregiononslidingscalesofdifference. Followinghisintroductiontothehistoricalandadministrativecontextof Fan'sTreatises,Hargettintroducestheauthorandhisfourmajorproseworksand thenturnstoconsiderhowbesttocharacterizetheTreatisesgenericallyand rhetoricallyinrelationtoChineseliterarytradition.Hargettfirstcomparesand contraststheTreatiseswithanumberofimportantliterarygenresinaneffortto triangulatetheirgenericidentity.HenotesthattheTreatisesaremadeupofthirteensections,eachmarkedbytheverb"torecord"(zhi )intheirtitleandthat theyfollowthepatternof"treatiseonX"where"X"isaparticularkindofobject, naturalorman-made,orgroupofpeople: 1.precipice-grottoes 2.metalsandstones 3.aromatics 4.wines 5.implements 6.birds

Journal

China Review International – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Aug 9, 2010

There are no references for this article.