Manifest in Words, Written on Paper: Producing and Circulating Poetry in Tang Dynasty China (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series)

This study aims to engage the textual realities of medieval literature by shedding light on the material lives of poems during the Tang, from their initial oral or written instantiation through their often lengthy and twisted paths of circulation. Tang poems exist today in stable written forms assumed to reflect their creators'original intent. Yet Tang poetic culture was based on hand-copied manuscripts and oral performance. We have almost no access to this poetry as it was experienced by contemporaries. This is no trivial matter, the author argues. If we do not understand how Tang people composed, experienced, and transmitted this poetry, we miss something fundamental about the roles of memory and copying in the circulation of poetry as well as readers'dynamic participation in the creation of texts. We learn something different about poems when we examine them, not as literary works transcending any particular physical form, but as objects with distinct physical attributes, visual and sonic. The attitudes of the Tang audience toward the stability of texts matter as well. Understanding Tang poetry requires acknowledging that Tang literary culture accepted the conscious revision of these works by authors, readers, and transmitters. 2012 Joseph Levenson Book Prize, Pre-1900 Category, China and Inner Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies This study aims to engage the textual realities of medieval literature by shedding light on the material lives of poems during the Tang, from their initial oral or written instantiation through their often lengthy and twisted paths of circulation. Tang poems exist today in stable written forms assumed to reflect their creators original intent. Yet Tang poetic culture was based on hand-copied manuscripts and oral performance. We have almost no access to this poetry as it was experienced by contemporaries. This is no trivial matter, the author argues. If we do not understand how Tang people composed, experienced, and transmitted this poetry, we miss something fundamental about the roles of memory and copying in the circulation of poetry as well as readers dynamic participation in the creation of texts. We learn something different about poems when we examine them, not as literary works transcending any particular physical form, but as objects with distinct physical attributes, visual and sonic. The attitudes of the Tang audience toward the stability of texts matter as well. Understanding Tang poetry requires acknowledging that Tang literary culture accepted the conscious revision of these works by authors, readers, and transmitters. Frontmatter Figures (page xi) Abbreviations (page xiii) Introduction (page 1) 1 Textual Variation in Poetic Manuscripts from Dunhuang (page 27) The "Qinfu yin" Manuscripts (page 31) Shorter Works from Earlier in Dynasty: Gao Shi (page 65) 2 The Roles of Textual Memory and Memorialization in Medieval Literary Culture (page 72) Extraordinary Memory (page 76) Ordinary Memory (page 88) Limitations and Accuracy (page 106) Memory and Poetic Circulation (page 117) 3 The Roles of Orality in Tang Poetic Culture (page 126) Composition (page 137) Circulation (page 153) 4 Written Composition and Circulation (page 177) Composition (page 181) Circulation (page 192) Textual Reproduction and Change (page 221) 5 Individual Literary Collections (page 236) Gathering the Texts (page 239) Editing and Copying (page 248) Roles of Collections in Tang Literary Culture (page 258) Collections and Critical Attitudes towards Poetry (page 276) Conclusion (page 285) Appendix Types of Variants Found in the "Qinfu yin" Manuscripts (page 297) Reference Matter Works Cited (page 313) Index (page 333) This Study Aims To Engage The Textual Realities Of Medieval Literature By Shedding Light On The Material Lives Of Poems During The Tang, From Their Initial Oral Or Written Instantiation Through Their Often Lengthy And Twisted Paths Of Circulation--provided By Publisher. Textual Variation In Poetic Manuscripts From Dunhuang -- The Roles Of Textual Memory And Memorization In Medieval Literary Culture -- The Roles Of Orality In Tang Poetic Culture -- Written Composition And Circulation -- Individual Literary Collections. Christopher M.b. Nugent. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.