Buried Ideas
Legends of Abdication and Ideal Government in Early Chinese Bamboo-Slip Manuscripts
Published on 1. November 2015
Book
Hardback
386 pages
978-1-4384-5777-2 (ISBN)
Description
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 Yu 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.
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 Yu 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.
Reviews / Votes
"...Allan's new book bears the fruit of a long, successful career in early China studies. It is of broad interest to scholars in the humanities and required reading for students of Chinese philosophy and intellectual history." - Journal of Chinese Humanities"[A] bold new book ... The implications of these unearthed texts are so profound that they will take decades to digest." - New York Review of Books
"Buried Ideas, an illuminating work of great scholarly rigour, is the fruit of Allan's many years of dedicated labour on these manuscripts and a must-read for anyone interested in the textual, political, and intellectual history of early China." - Journal of Chinese Studies
"This monograph makes an important contribution to the study of early China by using newly excavated texts to reexamine disagreements about abdication ... Allan's book will greatly benefit those who study the philosophy and history of early China, and her rigorous and thorough approach to analyzing newly unearthed sources, especially in light of transmitted texts, is a great model for any scholar engaged in historiography using excavated materials." - Religious Studies Review
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Illustrations
2 Figures; 1 Maps; 14 Halftones, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
779 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4384-5777-2 (9781438457772)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Sarah Allan
Buried Ideas
Legends of Abdication and Ideal Government in Early Chinese Bamboo-Slip Manuscripts
E-Book
10/2015
1st Edition
De Gruyter
from
€88.99
Available for download
Person
Sarah Allan is Burlington Northern Foundation Professor of Asian Studies in honor of Richard M. Bressler at Dartmouth College. She is the author of The Way of Water and Sprouts of Virtue and The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China, both also published by SUNY Press.
Content
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. History and Historical Legend
3. The Chu-script Bamboo-Slip Manuscripts
4. Advocating Abdication: Tang Yu zhi dao ????, "The Way of TangYao ?? and YuShun ??"
Tang Yu zhi dao ????: Translation and Chinese Edition
5. The Zigao ?? and the Nature of Early Confucianism
Zigao ??: Translation and Chinese Edition
6. Rongchengshi ???: Abdication and Utopian Vision
Rongchengshi ???: Translation and Chinese Edition
7. The Bao xun ??: Obtaining the Center to Become King
Bao xun ??: Translation and Chinese Edition
8. Afterthoughts
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. History and Historical Legend
3. The Chu-script Bamboo-Slip Manuscripts
4. Advocating Abdication: Tang Yu zhi dao ????, "The Way of TangYao ?? and YuShun ??"
Tang Yu zhi dao ????: Translation and Chinese Edition
5. The Zigao ?? and the Nature of Early Confucianism
Zigao ??: Translation and Chinese Edition
6. Rongchengshi ???: Abdication and Utopian Vision
Rongchengshi ???: Translation and Chinese Edition
7. The Bao xun ??: Obtaining the Center to Become King
Bao xun ??: Translation and Chinese Edition
8. Afterthoughts
Bibliography
Index