Boundaries in China (Reaktion Books - Critical Views)

A crucial topic in the study of Chinese culture past or present is that of the'boundary'. In this book the authors investigate the meaning of the boundary as metaphor and paradox, as threshold and interface across the whole spectrum of Chinese art and society. The essays range from early politics and society to contemporary public and private discourse; from the creation of a literary canon to the positioning of individuals in dynastic time; from the public spaces in today's Peking Opera to the intangible surfaces of self in 14th-century painting. All the authors in this book are established Sinologists. Boundaries in China will be stimulating reading for anyone interested in the psycho-social dynamics of non-Western art and culture. Includes essays by Robin D. S. Yates, Wu Hung, Pauline Yu, John Hay, Jonathan Hay, Dorothy Ko, Isabelle Duchesne, Rey Chow, Ann Anagnost. Boundary Making, A Crucial Element In Human Cultural Creativity, Links These Essays Exploring Chinese Art And Society. Traversing Time And Cultural Category, Individual Expression And Social Construct, The Authors Demonstrate How A 'boundary' May Exist Simultaneously As Barrier, Threshold And Interface. The Essays Range From The Creation Of The First Political And Bureaucratic Boundaries In Early China, To The Dismantling Of Discursive Boundaries In The Post-mao Era. Spanning Diverse Subjects, Moving Between Ancient Funerary Art And The Tension Between Self And Image In Modern Peking Opera, They Deftly Explore The Psychodynamics Of Chinese Society. All The Authors In This Book Are Established Sinologists. Boundaries In China Will Be Stimulating Reading For Anyone Interested To See How The Seemingly Tangential Or Peripheral Can Turn Out To Be Of Central Concern In Non-western (and Perhaps Also Western) Art And Culture.--book Jacket. 1. Body, Space, Time And Bureaucracy: Boundary Creation And Control Mechanisms In Early China / Robin D.s. Yates -- 2. Beyond The 'great Boundary': Funerary Narrative In The Cangshan Tomb / Wu Hung -- 3. The Chinese Poetic Canon And Its Boundaries / Pauline Yu -- 4. Boundaries And Surfaces Of Self And Desire In Yuan Painting / John Hay -- 5. The Suspension Of Dynastic Time / Jonathan Hay -- 6. Lady-scolars At The Door: The Practice Of Gender Relations In Eighteenth-century Suzhou / Dorothy Ko. 7. The Chinese Opera Star: Roles And Identity / Isabelle Duchesne -- 8. 'love Me, Master, Love Me, Son': A Cultural Order Pornographically Constructed In Time / Rey Chow -- 9. Who Is Speaking Here? Discursive Boundaries And Representation In Post-mao China / Ann Anagnost -- 10. Zhang Hongtu/hongtu Zhang: An Interview. Edited By John Hay. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [337]-340) And Index. Imprint page......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Photographic Acknowledgements......Page 8 Notes on the Editor and Contributors......Page 9 Chronology......Page 11 Introduction......Page 13 1: Body, Space, Time and Bureaucracy: Boundary Creation and Control Mechanisms in Early China......Page 68 2: Beyond the 'Great Boundary': Funerary Narrative in the Cangshan Tomb......Page 93 3: The Chinese Poetic Canon and its Boundaries......Page 117 4: Boundaries and Surfaces of Self and Desire in Yuan Painting......Page 136 5: The Suspension of Dynastic Time......Page 183 6: Lady-Scholars at the Door: The Practice of Gender Relations in Eighteenth-Century Suzhou......Page 210 7: The Chinese Opera Star: Roles and Identity......Page 229 8: 'Love Me, Master, Love Me, Son': A Cultural Other Pornographically Constructed in Time......Page 255 9: Who Is Speaking Here? Discursive Boundaries and Representation in Post-Mao China......Page 269 10: Zhang Hongtu / Hongtu Zhang: An Interview......Page 292 References......Page 311 Select Bibliography......Page 349 Index......Page 353 An important topic in the study of Chinese culture, past or present, is that of the "boundary". The essays in this book investigate the meaning of the boundary as metaphor and paradox, as threshold and interface across the whole spectrum of Chinese art and society.