Authorship and Cultural Identity in Early Greece and China : Patterns of Literary Circulation

In this book, Alexander Beecroft explores how the earliest poetry in Greece (Homeric epic and lyric) and China (the Canon of Songs) evolved from being local, oral, and anonymous to being textualized, interpreted, and circulated over increasingly wider areas. Beecroft re-examines representations of authorship as found in poetic biographies such as Lives of Homer and the Zuozhuan, and in the works of other philosophical and historical authors like Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Confucius, and Sima Qian. Many of these anecdotes and narratives have long been rejected as spurious or motivated by naïve biographical criticism. Beecroft argues that these texts effectively negotiated the tensions between local and pan-cultural audiences. The figure of the author thus served as a catalyst to a sense of shared cultural identity in both the Greek and Chinese worlds. It also facilitated the emergence of both cultures as the bases for cosmopolitan world orders. In this book, Alexander Beecroft explores how the earliest poetry in Greece (Homeric epic and lyric) and China (the Canon of Songs) evolved from being local, oral, and anonymous to being textualised, interpreted, and circulated over increasingly wider areas. Beecroft re-examines representations of authorship as found in poetic biographies such as Lives of Homer and the Zuozhuan, and in the works of other philosophical and historical authors like Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Confucius, and Sima Qian. Many of these anecdotes and narratives have long been rejected as spurious or motivated by naïve biographical criticism. Beecroft argues that these texts effectively negotiated the tensions between local and pan-cultural audiences. The figure of the author thus served as a catalyst to a sense of shared cultural identity in both the Greek and Chinese worlds. It also facilitated the emergence of both cultures as the bases for cosmopolitan world orders. Explicit Poetics In Greece And China : Points Of Divergence And Convergence -- Epic Authorship : The Lives Of Homer, Textuality And Panhellenism -- Lyric Authorship : Poetry, Genre, And The Polis -- Authorship Between Epic And Lyric : Stesichorus, The Palinode, And Performance -- Death And Lingerie : Cosmopolitan And Panhuaxia Readings Of The Airs Of The States -- Summit At Fei : The Poetics Of Diplomacy In The Zuozhuan -- The Politics Of Dancing : The Great King Wu Dance And The Hymns Of Zhou -- Conclusion : Scenes Of Authorship And Master-narratives. Alexander Beecroft. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 287-307) And Indexes. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Introduction......Page 12 Explicit Poetics in Greece and China......Page 37 Lives of Homer......Page 72 Lyric Authorship......Page 117 Authorship between Epic and Lyric......Page 155 Death and Lingerie......Page 182 Summit at Fei......Page 216 The Politics of Dancing......Page 251 Conclusion......Page 289 Bibliography......Page 298 Index of Passages Cited......Page 320 General Index......Page 326 Cambridge University Press Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction 12 Explicit Poetics in Greece and China 37 Epic Authorship 72 Lives of Homer 72 Lyric Authorship 117 Authorship between Epic and Lyric 155 Death and Lingerie 182 Summit at Fei 216 The Politics of Dancing 251 Conclusion 289 Bibliography 298 Index of Passages Cited 320 General Index 326 9780521194310 Explores how the earliest poetry in Greece (Homeric epic and lyric) and China (the Canon of Songs) evolved.--Résumé de l'éditeur