Envisioning Eternal Empire

Author : Yuri Pines
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
Page : 322 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2009-01-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780824832759

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Envisioning Eternal Empire by Yuri Pines Pdf

This ambitious book looks into the reasons for the exceptional durability of the Chinese empire, which lasted for more than two millennia (221 B.C.E.-1911 C.E.). Yuri Pines identifies the roots of the empire's longevity in the activities of thinkers of the Warring States period (453-221 B.C.E.), who, in their search for solutions to an ongoing political crisis, developed ideals, values, and perceptions that would become essential for the future imperial polity. In marked distinction to similar empires worldwide, the Chinese empire was envisioned and to a certain extent "preplanned" long before it came into being. As a result, it was not only a military and administrative construct, but also an intellectual one. Pines makes the argument that it was precisely its ideological appeal that allowed the survival and regeneration of the empire after repeated periods of turmoil. Envisioning Eternal Empire presents a panoptic survey of philosophical and social conflicts in Warring States political culture. By examining the extant corpus of preimperial literature, including transmitted texts and manuscripts uncovered at archaeological sites, Pines locates the common ideas of competing thinkers that underlie their ideological controversies. This bold approach allows him to transcend the once fashionable perspective of competing "schools of thought" and show that beneath the immense pluralism of Warring States thought one may identify common ideological choices that eventually shaped traditional Chinese political culture

Author : Yuri Pines
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2012-05-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9780691134956

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The Everlasting Empire by Yuri Pines Pdf

Established in 221 BCE, the Chinese empire lasted for 2,132 years before being replaced by the Republic of China in 1912. During its two millennia, the empire endured internal wars, foreign incursions, alien occupations, and devastating rebellions--yet fundamental institutional, sociopolitical, and cultural features of the empire remained intact. The Everlasting Empire traces the roots of the Chinese empire's exceptional longevity and unparalleled political durability, and shows how lessons from the imperial past are relevant for China today. Yuri Pines demonstrates that the empire survived and adjusted to a variety of domestic and external challenges through a peculiar combination of rigid ideological premises and their flexible implementation. The empire's major political actors and neighbors shared its fundamental ideological principles, such as unity under a single monarch--hence, even the empire's strongest domestic and foreign foes adopted the system of imperial rule. Yet details of this rule were constantly negotiated and adjusted. Pines shows how deep tensions between political actors including the emperor, the literati, local elites, and rebellious commoners actually enabled the empire's basic institutional framework to remain critically vital and adaptable to ever-changing sociopolitical circumstances. As contemporary China moves toward a new period of prosperity and power in the twenty-first century, Pines argues that the legacy of the empire may become an increasingly important force in shaping the nation's future trajectory.

Author : Alec Nevala-Lee
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1322817561

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Eternal Empire by Alec Nevala-Lee Pdf

Author : Patricia LaPlante
Publisher : First Edition Design Pub.
Page : 333 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2024-03-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781506911281

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A Belgian Odyssey by Patricia LaPlante Pdf

F I N A L Y! ...she's getting to see the world. A suburban American housewife, Patty LaPlante, finds herself transplanted to a little town in Belgium—a result of her husband's corporate transfer. Her lifelong dream of travel is finally coming to pass, but the adjustment is hard for their three children, who are reluctant to leave everything they know. Given her propensity to attract trouble, her naivete lands Patty into many comic misadventures, such as introducing the Mexican ambassador to a roomful of people by the wrong name, accepting a lift on a lonely road in Spain from a man of dubious repute who thought she was a street-walker, and dealing in diamonds in a shady part of town. As her husband states, “Every time she walks out the door, I wonder if I’ll ever see her again.” But there are poignant and heartrending moments as well. There is the day at the Luxembourg War Memorial Cemetery when she finds herself standing on General George S. Patton's grave, as well as witnessing the gut-wrenching scene that unfolds before her at the infamous Berlin Wall before it fell. At the end of her husband's assignment, however, Patty had grown through her experiences and had become more street smart and world-wise. With the lessons she learned, she knows she can never return to the past, nor remain the person she used to be.

Author : Daniel A. Bell
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 417 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2013-08-12
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781107038394

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The East Asian Challenge for Democracy by Daniel A. Bell Pdf

The rise of China, along with problems of governance in democratic countries, has reinvigorated the theory of political meritocracy. But what is the theory of political meritocracy and how can it set standards for evaluating political progress (and regress)? To help answer these questions, this volume gathers a series of commissioned research papers from an interdisciplinary group of leading philosophers, historians and social scientists. The result is the first book in decades to examine the rise (or revival) of political meritocracy and what it will mean for political developments in China and the rest of the world. Despite its limitations, meritocracy has contributed much to human flourishing in East Asia and beyond and will continue to do so in the future. This book is essential reading for those who wish to further the debate and perhaps even help to implement desirable forms of political change.

Author : Garret P. S. Olberding
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 318 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2020-05-11
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781684175345

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Facing the Monarch by Garret P. S. Olberding Pdf

In the popular consciousness, manipulative speech pervades politicized discourse, and the eloquence of politicians is seen as invariably rooted in cunning and prevarication. Rhetorical flourishes are thus judged corruptive of the substance of political discourse because they lead to distortion and confusion. Yet the papers in Facing the Monarch suggest that separating style from content is practically impossible. Focused on the era between the Spring and Autumn period and the later Han dynasty, this volume examines the dynamic between early Chinese ministers and monarchs at a time when ministers employed manifold innovative rhetorical tactics. The contributors analyze discrete excerpts from classical Chinese works and explore topics of censorship, irony, and dissidence highly relevant for a climate in which ruse and misinformation were the norm. What emerges are original and illuminating perspectives on how the early Chinese political circumstance shaped and phrased—and prohibited—modes of expression.

Author : Marc Andre Matten
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 374 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2016-11-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9789004327153

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Imagining a Postnational World by Marc Andre Matten Pdf

This book analyses the historical significance of rivaling concepts of world order in 20th century East Asia. It discusses in detail the relationship of territoriality and political rule, discourses of amity and enmity, and finally the role of hegemoniality in the process of imaging a possible postnational world in twenty-first century East Asia and beyond.

Author : Yuri Pines,Gideon Shelach,Lothar von Falkenhausen,Robin D.S. Yates
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 407 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2013-10-16
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520289741

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Birth of an Empire by Yuri Pines,Gideon Shelach,Lothar von Falkenhausen,Robin D.S. Yates Pdf

In 221 BCE the state of Qin vanquished its rivals and established the first empire on Chinese soil, starting a millennium-long imperial age in Chinese history. Hailed by some and maligned by many, Qin has long been an enigma. In this pathbreaking study, the authors integrate textual sources with newly available archeological and paleographic materials, providing a boldly novel picture of Qin’s cultural and political trajectory, its evolving institutions and its religion, its place in China’s history, and the reasons for its success and for its ultimate collapse.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2014-04-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9789004272095

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The Dynastic Centre and the Provinces by Anonim Pdf

The dynastic centre and the provinces were linked by agents and ritual occasions. This book includes contributions by specialists examining these connections in late imperial China, early modern Europe, and the Ottoman empire, suggesting important revisions and an agenda for comparison.

Author : Li Wai-yee,Yuri Pines
Publisher : The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
Page : 360 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2019-12-15
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 9789882371194

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Keywords in Chinese Culture by Li Wai-yee,Yuri Pines Pdf

Like every major culture, Chinese has its set of keywords: pivotal terms of political, ethical, literary and philosophical discourse. Tracing the origins, development, polysemy, and usages of keywords is one of the best ways to chart cultural and historical changes. This volume analyzes some of these keywords from different disciplinary and temporal perspectives, offering a new integrative study of their semantic richness, development trajectory, and distinct usages in Chinese culture. The authors of the volume explore different keywords and focus on different periods and genres, ranging from philosophical and historical texts of the Warring States period (453-V221 BCE) to late imperial (ca. 6th?V18th centuries CE) literature and philosophy. They are guided by a similar set of questions: What elevates a mere word to the status of keyword? What sort of resonance and reverberations do we expect a keyword to have? How much does the semantic range of a keyword explain its significance? What kinds of arguments does it generate? What are the stories told to illustrate its meanings? What are political and intellectual implications of the keyword's reevaluation? What does it mean to translate a keyword and map its meaning against other languages? Throughout Chinese history, new ideas and new approaches often mean reinterpreting important words; rupture, continuities, and inflection points are inseparable from the linguistic history of specific terms. The premise of this book is that taking the long view and encompassing different disciplines yield new insights and unexpected connections. The authors, who come from the fields of history,

Author : Charles Sanft
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2014-02-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781438450377

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Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China by Charles Sanft Pdf

Challenges traditional views of the Qin dynasty as an oppressive regime by revealing cooperative aspects of its governance. This revealing book challenges longstanding notions of the Qin dynasty, China’s first imperial dynasty (221–206 BCE). The received history of the Qin dynasty and its founder is one of cruel tyranny with rule through fear and coercion. Using a wealth of new information afforded by the expansion of Chinese archaeology in recent decades as well as traditional historical sources, Charles Sanft concentrates on cooperative aspects of early imperial government, especially on the communication necessary for government. Sanft suggests that the Qin authorities sought cooperation from the populace with a publicity campaign in a wide variety of media—from bronze and stone inscriptions to roads to the bureaucracy. The book integrates theory from anthropology and economics with early Chinese philosophy and argues that modern social science and ancient thought agree that cooperation is necessary for all human societies.

Author : Yegor Grebnev
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 359 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2022-07-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9780231555036

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Mediation of Legitimacy in Early China by Yegor Grebnev Pdf

Scholarship on early China has traditionally focused on a core group of canonical texts. However, understudied sources have the potential to shift perspectives on fundamental aspects of Chinese intellectual, religious, and political history. Yegor Grebnev examines crucial noncanonical texts preserved in the Yi Zhou shu (Neglected Zhou Scriptures) and the Grand Duke traditions, which represent scriptural traditions influential during the Warring States period but sidelined in later history. He develops an innovative framework for the study and interpretation of these texts, focusing on their role in the mediation of royal legitimacy and their formative impact on early Daoism. Grebnev demonstrates the centrality of the Yi Zhou shu in Chinese intellectual history by highlighting its simultaneous connections to canonical traditions and esoteric Daoism. He also shows that the Daoist rituals of textual transmission embedded in the Grand Duke traditions bear an imprint of the courtly environment of the Warring States period, where early Daoists strove for prestige and power, offering legitimacy through texts ascribed to the mythical sage rulers. These rituals appear to have emerged at the same period as the core Daoist philosophical texts and not several centuries later as conventionally believed, which calls for a reassessment of the history of Daoism’s interrelated religious and philosophical strands. Offering a far-reaching reconsideration of early Chinese intellectual and religious history, Mediation of Legitimacy in Early China sheds new light on the foundations of the Chinese textual tradition.

Author : Loubna El Amine
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2015-09-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780691163048

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Classical Confucian Political Thought by Loubna El Amine Pdf

The intellectual legacy of Confucianism has loomed large in efforts to understand China's past, present, and future. While Confucian ethics has been thoroughly explored, the question remains: what exactly is Confucian political thought? Classical Confucian Political Thought returns to the classical texts of the Confucian tradition to answer this vital question. Showing how Confucian ethics and politics diverge, Loubna El Amine argues that Confucian political thought is not a direct application of Confucian moral philosophy. Instead, contrary to the conventional view that Confucian rule aims to instill virtue in all members of society, El Amine demonstrates that its main aim is to promote political order. El Amine analyzes key aspects of the Confucian political vision, including the relationship between the ruler and the people, the typology of rulers, and the role of ministers and government officials. She also looks at Confucianism’s account of the mechanisms through which society is to be regulated, from welfare policies to rituals. She explains that the Confucian conception of the political leaves space open for the rule of those who are not virtuous if these rulers establish and maintain political order. She also contends that Confucians defend the duty to take part in government based on the benefits that such participation can bring to society. Classical Confucian Political Thought brings a new understanding to Confucian political theory by illustrating that it is not chiefly idealistic and centered on virtue, but rather realistic and driven by political concerns.

Author : Sarah Allan
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 388 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2015-10-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9781438457772

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Buried Ideas by Sarah Allan Pdf

Four Warring States texts discovered during recent decades challenge longstanding understandings of Chinese intellectual history. The discovery of previously unknown philosophical texts from the Axial Age is revolutionizing our understanding of Chinese intellectual history. Buried Ideas presents and discusses four texts found on brush-written slips of bamboo and their seemingly unprecedented political philosophy. Written in the regional script of Chu during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE), all of the works discuss Yao’s abdication to Shun and are related to but differ significantly from the core texts of the classical period, such as the Mencius and Zhuangzi. Notably, these works evince an unusually meritocratic stance, and two even advocate abdication over hereditary succession as a political ideal. Sarah Allan includes full English translations and her own modern-character editions of the four works examined: Tang Yú zhi dao, Zigao, Rongchengshi, and Bao xun. In addition, she provides an introduction to Chu-script bamboo-slip manuscripts and the complex issues inherent in deciphering them.

Author : Allison R. Miller
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 655 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2020-12-01
Category : Art
ISBN : 9780231551748

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Kingly Splendor by Allison R. Miller Pdf

The Western Han dynasty (202 BCE–9 CE) was a foundational period for the artistic culture of ancient China, a fact particularly visible in the era’s funerary art. Iconic forms of Chinese art such as dazzling suits of jade; cavernous, rock-cut mountain tombs; fancifully ornate wall paintings; and armies of miniature terracotta warriors were prepared for the tombs of the elite during this period. Many of the finest objects of the Western Han have been excavated from the tombs of kings, who administered local provinces on behalf of the emperors. Allison R. Miller paints a new picture of elite art production by revealing the contributions of the kings to Western Han artistic culture. She demonstrates that the kings were not mere imitators of the imperial court but rather innovators, employing local materials and workshops and experimenting with new techniques to challenge the artistic hegemony of the imperial house. Tombs and funerary art, Miller contends, functioned as an important vehicle of political expression as kings strove to persuade the population and other elites of their legitimacy. Through case studies of five genres of royal art, Miller argues that the political structure of the early Western Han, with the emperor as one ruler among peers, benefited artistic production and innovation. Kingly Splendor brings together close readings of funerary art and architecture with nuanced analyses of political and institutional dynamics to provide an interdisciplinary revisionist history of the early Western Han.