Go Nation
Chinese Masculinities and the Game of Weiqi in China
1st Edition
Published on 31. August 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-0-520-27632-1 (ISBN)
Description
Go (Weiqi in Chinese) is one of the most popular games in East Asia, with a steadily increasing fan base around the world. Like chess, Go is a logic game but it is much older, with written records mentioning the game that date back to the 4th century BC. As Chinese politics have changed over the last two millennia, so too has the imagery of the game. In Imperial times it was seen as a tool to seek religious enlightenment and was one of the four noble arts that were a requisite to becoming a cultured gentleman. During the Cultural Revolution it was a stigmatized emblem of the lasting effects of feudalism. Today, it marks the reemergence of cultured gentlemen as an idealized model of manhood. Marc L. Moskowitz explores the fascinating history of the game, as well as providing a vivid snapshot of Chinese Go players today. Go Nation uses this game to come to a better understanding of Chinese masculinity, nationalism, and class, as the PRC reconfigures its history and traditions to meet the future.
Reviews / Votes
"Moskowitz advances our understanding of the key roles that sports play in gendering societies in Asia ... this book is Invaluable." -- Yunxiang Gao SignsMore details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
12 b-w photographs
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-27632-1 (9780520276321)
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
E-Book
08/2013
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€28.99
Available for download
Book
08/2013
1st Edition
University of California Press
€60.70
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Person
Marc L. Moskowitz is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina. He is the author of several books, including Cries of Joys, Songs of Sorrow: Chinese Pop Music and Its Cultural Connotations.
Content
Preface Fieldwork Notes on Terminology Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Introduction The Game of Weiqi New Technologies The Ranking System Gender Coding and the Naturalization of Difference Weiqi Women Ambiguous Identities and Taiwan's Women's Team Constructing Masculinities and the Weiqi Sphere Chapter 2. Multiple Metaphors and Mystical Imaginaries: A Cultural History of Weiqi The Rules Weiqi in Comparison with Chess Religious Mysticism and Historical Teleologies From Stigma to Status Weiqi's War Imagery Chapter 3. Nation, Race, and Man The Scholar and the Warrior Chinese Masculinities: Individual Formation and Nationalist Discourses Anti-Japanese Sentiments as Nation Building Japan's Weiqi Legacy Mastering East Asia: National Rivalries and International Competitions Conceptualizing Nations, Rethinking Play An Unexpected Nostalgia for the Japanese Era Chapter 4. Becoming Men: Children's Training in Contemporary China Weiqi Teachers and the Confucian Ideal Modernizing Influences--Weiqi Schools as Corporate Structures The Students Weiqi as a Disciplinary Mechanism Weiqi as Sport--Beyond the Cartesian Divide Disciplining Parents Chapter 5. A Certain Man: University Students, Amateurs, and Professionals Class Consciousness and Relentless Competition Suzhi Weiqi's Suzhi Discourse The Peking University Weiqi Team, Ranks, and the Amateur/Professional Divide Professional Training Facing the Future Chapter 6. Retirement and Constructions of Masculinity Among Working Class Weiqi Players First Contact Retirement Park Culture Kibitzing as a Social Ideal Lived Histories Masculinity Among the Working Class at the Park Chapter 7. Conclusion: Looking Forward to a Bygone Age Glossary of Terms Citations Index