Between History and Philosophy: Anecdotes in Early China (SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture)

Analyzes The Use Of Anecdotes As An Essential Rhetorical Tool And Form Of Persuasion In Various Literary Genres In Early China. Between History And Philosophy Is The First Book-length Study In English To Focus On The Rhetorical Functions And Forms Of Anecdotal Narratives In Early China. Edited By Paul Van Els And Sarah A. Queen, This Volume Advances The Thesis That Anecdotes—brief, Freestanding Accounts Of Single Events Involving Historical Figures, And Occasionally Also Unnamed Persons, Animals, Objects, Or Abstractions—served As An Essential Tool Of Persuasion And Meaning-making Within Larger Texts. Contributors To The Volume Analyze The Use Of Anecdotes From The Warring States Period To The Han Dynasty, Including Their Relations To Other Types Of Narrative, Their Circulation And Reception, And Their Central Position As A Mode Of Argumentation In A Variety Of Historical And Philosophical Literary Genres. The Composition of Chapter 9, "Zhengjian" (Rectifying Remonstrance) in the Shuoyuan -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 6. From Villains Outwitted to Pedants Out-Wrangled -- Cluster A and Cluster C: Villains vs. Pedants -- Tracing Transition in Cluster B -- Conclusion -- Notes -- 7. The Limits of Praise and Blame -- A Typology of Gongyang Narratives -- Worthy Protectors -- The Righteous Kongfu Jia of Song -- The Fearless Qiu Mu of Song -- The Trustworthy Xun Xi of Jin -- Worthy Avengers -- Ji You of Lu -- Worthy Regents -- Duke Yin's Regency -- Worthy Abdicators -- Ji Zha of Wu -- Devotees of Ritual Propriety and Trustworthiness -- Conclusion: Anecdote as Historiographical Muse -- Notes -- Part III: Anecdotes and History -- 8. History without Anecdotes -- The Riddle of Boredom: Non-anecdotal Narratives in the Zuozhuan -- The Xinian: Introduction -- Non-moralizing History: The Xinian vs. Zuozhuan Narratives -- The Xinian and Chu Historiography -- Summary: Non-anecdotal Historiography -- Notes -- 9. Cultural Memory and Excavated Anecdotes in "Documentary" Narrative -- The Baoxun and Its Modern Classification -- The Baoxun -- The Frame -- Genre -- The Primary Narrative -- Anecdotes -- Discussion and Conclusion -- Notes -- 10. Old Stories No Longer Told -- Part 1: A Thriving Tradition -- Version 1: Zuozhuan -- Version 2: Guoyu -- Version 3: Lüshi chunqiu -- Version 4: Han Feizi -- Version 5: Huainanzi -- Version 6: Xinxu -- Part 2: A Fading Tradition -- Part 3: Musings on the End of a Tradition -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Contributors -- Index Between History and Philosophy is the first book-length study in English to focus on the rhetorical functions and forms of anecdotal narratives in early China. Edited by Paul van Els and Sarah A. Queen, this volume advances the thesis that anecdotes - brief, freestanding accounts of single events involving historical figures, and occasionally also unnamed persons, animals, objects, or abstractions - served as an essential tool of persuasion and meaning-making within larger texts. Contributors to the volume analyze the use of anecdotes from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty, including their relations to other types of narrative, their circulation and reception, and their central position as a mode of argumentation in a variety of historical and philosophical literary genres