Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2020.1780740
O. Milburn
This paper focuses on the small group of writings from the Wei-Jin period about different kinds of sweeteners used in food and drink. Apart from any question of literary merit in these writings, there is the issue of status: all sugars were expensive, and some were extremely rare, and to consume such a sugar was a potent sign of privilege. It is not surprising that all early medieval poems and prose about sweeteners focus on the sugars considered to be most prestigious: honey, manna, and sugarcane. These writings influenced later works on the same subject, and provide the earliest surviving descriptions of the importance of sugars in Chinese culture.
{"title":"A Taste of Honey: Early Medieval Chinese Writings about Sweeteners","authors":"O. Milburn","doi":"10.1080/15299104.2020.1780740","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2020.1780740","url":null,"abstract":"This paper focuses on the small group of writings from the Wei-Jin period about different kinds of sweeteners used in food and drink. Apart from any question of literary merit in these writings, there is the issue of status: all sugars were expensive, and some were extremely rare, and to consume such a sugar was a potent sign of privilege. It is not surprising that all early medieval poems and prose about sweeteners focus on the sugars considered to be most prestigious: honey, manna, and sugarcane. These writings influenced later works on the same subject, and provide the earliest surviving descriptions of the importance of sugars in Chinese culture.","PeriodicalId":41624,"journal":{"name":"Early Medieval China","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15299104.2020.1780740","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47615092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2020.1780735
Andrew Chittick
In a recent leading article in the Journal of Asian Studies, Hugh Clark critiques the teleological construct of a unified China, arguing that, at least up through the tenth century, the unified regimes of Qin/Han and Sui/Tang were a “superficial overlay” atop an East Asia comprised of many diverse cultural regions. I believe that scholars should take up Clark’s critique as an invitation: to write meaningful histories of East Asian cultural regions, their distinctive peoples, and their diverse cultural and political identities, without relying on the teleological construct of “China” and the “Chinese” (or Han) people and culture. Scholars of the early medieval period have exceptionally rich opportunities to do this sort of work, yet we mostly have not taken sufficient advantage of them. This essay uses my own work on the Wuren as a case study to propose some useful frameworks and methodologies available to us, such as re-thinking the concept of “empire,” and writing regional histories. Thinking regionally, especially when done in collaboration with scholars of other periods of fragmentation, will allow scholars of the early medieval era to make distinctive and important contributions to the broader fields of East Asian and comparative World history.
在《亚洲研究杂志》(Journal of Asian Studies)最近的一篇重要文章中，休·克拉克(Hugh Clark)批评了统一中国的目的论建构，他认为，至少在整个10世纪，秦汉和隋唐的统一政权是在由许多不同文化区域组成的东亚之上的“表面覆盖”。我认为，学者们应该把克拉克的批评当作一种邀请:在不依赖于“中国”和“中国人”(或汉族)的目的论建构的情况下，撰写有意义的东亚文化区域、其独特的民族、及其多样化的文化和政治身份的历史。中世纪早期的学者有非常丰富的机会来做这类工作，但我们大多没有充分利用它们。本文以我自己对乌仁人的研究为例，提出了一些有用的框架和方法，如重新思考“帝国”的概念，以及撰写区域历史。区域性思考，特别是与其他分裂时期的学者合作时，将使中世纪早期的学者能够对东亚历史和比较世界史的更广泛领域做出独特而重要的贡献。
{"title":"Thinking Regionally in Early Medieval Studies: A Manifesto","authors":"Andrew Chittick","doi":"10.1080/15299104.2020.1780735","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2020.1780735","url":null,"abstract":"In a recent leading article in the Journal of Asian Studies, Hugh Clark critiques the teleological construct of a unified China, arguing that, at least up through the tenth century, the unified regimes of Qin/Han and Sui/Tang were a “superficial overlay” atop an East Asia comprised of many diverse cultural regions. I believe that scholars should take up Clark’s critique as an invitation: to write meaningful histories of East Asian cultural regions, their distinctive peoples, and their diverse cultural and political identities, without relying on the teleological construct of “China” and the “Chinese” (or Han) people and culture. Scholars of the early medieval period have exceptionally rich opportunities to do this sort of work, yet we mostly have not taken sufficient advantage of them. This essay uses my own work on the Wuren as a case study to propose some useful frameworks and methodologies available to us, such as re-thinking the concept of “empire,” and writing regional histories. Thinking regionally, especially when done in collaboration with scholars of other periods of fragmentation, will allow scholars of the early medieval era to make distinctive and important contributions to the broader fields of East Asian and comparative World history.","PeriodicalId":41624,"journal":{"name":"Early Medieval China","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15299104.2020.1780735","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41254367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2020.1780743
Yue Zhang
{"title":"A Selective Bibliography of Mainland Chinese Books (2011–2019) on Early Medieval Chinese Literature","authors":"Yue Zhang","doi":"10.1080/15299104.2020.1780743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2020.1780743","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41624,"journal":{"name":"Early Medieval China","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15299104.2020.1780743","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47686801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-01DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2019.1667081
{"title":"Bibliography of Albert E. Dien Since 2008","authors":"","doi":"10.1080/15299104.2019.1667081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2019.1667081","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41624,"journal":{"name":"Early Medieval China","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15299104.2019.1667081","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42394059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-01DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2019.1660082
S. Pearce
{"title":"Albert Dien’s Contribution to Study of the Northern Dynasties","authors":"S. Pearce","doi":"10.1080/15299104.2019.1660082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2019.1660082","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41624,"journal":{"name":"Early Medieval China","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15299104.2019.1660082","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43265692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-01DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2019.1660087
S. Müller
After the Han, lacquer finds in tombs in the Chinese world generally became rare both in the north and in the south. However, in northern China, especially during the Pingcheng period (398–493) of the Northern Wei, a certain resurgence was experienced. The later Northern Dynasties then see a drastic reduction in realia finds again. The lacquers in Pingcheng tombs were mostly used to present funerary offerings of sacrificed animals. Many lacquers were presumably products of previous ages, but some were newly manufactured in Pingcheng. In the Pingcheng funerary cult, lacquers were used in novel ways, and with novel ornamentation, as tableware for sacrifices took root in northern Shanxi. Such practices are not found elsewhere. The unique lacquer-painted coffins of Pingcheng bear images of Xianbei or Central Asians, accompanied mostly with motifs and patterns in the style of Yungang art. Based on a dominant human imagery accompanied by decorative elements, the possible origin of the famous lacquered screen from the tomb of Sima Jinlong is also briefly discussed.
{"title":"A Preliminary Study of the Lacquerware of the Northern Dynasties, with a Special Focus on the Pingcheng Period (398–493)","authors":"S. Müller","doi":"10.1080/15299104.2019.1660087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2019.1660087","url":null,"abstract":"After the Han, lacquer finds in tombs in the Chinese world generally became rare both in the north and in the south. However, in northern China, especially during the Pingcheng period (398–493) of the Northern Wei, a certain resurgence was experienced. The later Northern Dynasties then see a drastic reduction in realia finds again. The lacquers in Pingcheng tombs were mostly used to present funerary offerings of sacrificed animals. Many lacquers were presumably products of previous ages, but some were newly manufactured in Pingcheng. In the Pingcheng funerary cult, lacquers were used in novel ways, and with novel ornamentation, as tableware for sacrifices took root in northern Shanxi. Such practices are not found elsewhere. The unique lacquer-painted coffins of Pingcheng bear images of Xianbei or Central Asians, accompanied mostly with motifs and patterns in the style of Yungang art. Based on a dominant human imagery accompanied by decorative elements, the possible origin of the famous lacquered screen from the tomb of Sima Jinlong is also briefly discussed.","PeriodicalId":41624,"journal":{"name":"Early Medieval China","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15299104.2019.1660087","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46337172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-01DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2019.1660088
Armin Selbitschka
Early imperial and early medieval Chinese foreign relations have been mainly viewed through the prism of the so-called tributary system. Consequently, tribute relations with the Northern Wei court are either reduced to business ventures undertaken by foreign polities, or empty ideological exercises by the Tuoba emperors, who were only interested in having their worldview confirmed. Such views disregard the actual political and diplomatic value of tribute offerings to the Northern Wei. This article will provide a corrective through a close reading of diplomatic interactions recorded largely in the Wei shu that involved tribute offerings. Since these interactions sometimes also involved diplomatic hostages and marriage alliances, they will be briefly analyzed as well. I will show that tribute, in fact, was a political tool that was successfully utilized to meet various ends by both parties involved in bilateral exchanges. In the true sense of diplomatic interaction, tribute relations were highly effective means to negotiate peace.
{"title":"Tribute, Hostages, and Marriage Alliances: A Close Reading of Diplomatic Strategies in the Northern Wei Period","authors":"Armin Selbitschka","doi":"10.1080/15299104.2019.1660088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2019.1660088","url":null,"abstract":"Early imperial and early medieval Chinese foreign relations have been mainly viewed through the prism of the so-called tributary system. Consequently, tribute relations with the Northern Wei court are either reduced to business ventures undertaken by foreign polities, or empty ideological exercises by the Tuoba emperors, who were only interested in having their worldview confirmed. Such views disregard the actual political and diplomatic value of tribute offerings to the Northern Wei. This article will provide a corrective through a close reading of diplomatic interactions recorded largely in the Wei shu that involved tribute offerings. Since these interactions sometimes also involved diplomatic hostages and marriage alliances, they will be briefly analyzed as well. I will show that tribute, in fact, was a political tool that was successfully utilized to meet various ends by both parties involved in bilateral exchanges. In the true sense of diplomatic interaction, tribute relations were highly effective means to negotiate peace.","PeriodicalId":41624,"journal":{"name":"Early Medieval China","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15299104.2019.1660088","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43443675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-01-01DOI: 10.1080/15299104.2019.1665931
P. Riboud
While the documentation concerning Zoroastrian clergy in pre-Islamic Central Asia is scarce, it is comparatively abundant in medieval China. Priests and ritual performers, that in some cases clearly followed Central Asian Zoroastrian rituals, are depicted in funerary art and are associated in Chinese sources with a religion named Xian 祆 . However, in some Chinese sources, the character xian is also used to describe Altaic rituals, and this has led to some confusion as to what religion this term refers to, and consequently to the status of the ritual performers—learned priests or laymen—that are associated with it. This paper aims to investigate these ritual performers in order to understand their status within the Central Asian diaspora, and how Xian clergy functioned within Chinese religious regulations.
{"title":"Priests and Other Xian 祆 Ritual Performers in Medieval China*","authors":"P. Riboud","doi":"10.1080/15299104.2019.1665931","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15299104.2019.1665931","url":null,"abstract":"While the documentation concerning Zoroastrian clergy in pre-Islamic Central Asia is scarce, it is comparatively abundant in medieval China. Priests and ritual performers, that in some cases clearly followed Central Asian Zoroastrian rituals, are depicted in funerary art and are associated in Chinese sources with a religion named Xian 祆 . However, in some Chinese sources, the character xian is also used to describe Altaic rituals, and this has led to some confusion as to what religion this term refers to, and consequently to the status of the ritual performers—learned priests or laymen—that are associated with it. This paper aims to investigate these ritual performers in order to understand their status within the Central Asian diaspora, and how Xian clergy functioned within Chinese religious regulations.","PeriodicalId":41624,"journal":{"name":"Early Medieval China","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15299104.2019.1665931","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45024753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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