Spirit and self in medieval China : the Shih-shuo hsin-yü and its legacy

The __Shih-shuo hsin-yu,__ conventionally translated as __A New Account of Tales of the World,__ is one of the most significant works in the entire Chinese literary tradition. It established a genre (the __Shih-shuo t'i__) and inspired dozens of imitations from the later part of the Tang dynasty (618-907) to the early Republican era of the twentieth century. The __Shih-shuo hsin-yu__ consists of more than a thousand historical anecdotes about elite life in the late Han dynasty and the Wei-Chin period (about A.D. 150-420). Despite a general recognition of the place of the __Shih-shuo hsin-yu__ in China's literary history (and to a lesser extent that of Japan), the genre itself has never been adequately defined or thoroughly studied. __Spirit and Self in Medieval China__ offers the first thorough study in any language of the origins and evolution of the __Shih-shuo t'i__ based on a comprehensive literary analysis of the __Shih-shuo hsin-yu__ and a systematic documentation and examination of more than thirty imitations. The study also contributes to the growing interest in the Chinese idea of individual identity. By focusing on the __Shin-shuo__ genre, which provides the starting point in China for a systematic literary construction of the self, it demonstrates that, contrary to Western assertions of a timeless Chinese "tradition," an authentic understanding of personhood in China changed continually and often significantly in response to changing historical and cultural circumstances.

This is for readers seeking an excursion deep into little-known terrain but allergic to the wide-eyed superficiality of ordinary travel literature. The author savors the sometimes gritty romance of his travels to an island village far from roads, electricity, telephone service, and the Internet, but puts to rest the cliché of "Stone Age" Papua New Guinea. He also gives the lie to stereotypes of anthropologists as either machete-wielding swashbucklers or detached observers turning real people into abstractions. Smith uses his anthropological expertise subtly, to illuminate Papua New Guinean lives, to nudge readers to look more closely at ideas they take for granted, and to take a wry look at his own experiences as an anthropologist.

Although Smith first went to Papua New Guinea in 1973, in 2008 it had been ten years since he had been back. He came not only to see people he had known for decades, but also to find out if his desire to return was more than an urge to flee the bureaucracy and recycled indoor air of his job. Smith finds in Kragur many things he remembered fondly, including a life immersed in nature and freedom from 9-5 tyranny. And he again encounters the stifling midday heat, the wet tropical sores, and the sometimes excruciating intensity of village social life that he had somehow managed to forget.

A Faraway Familiar Place provides practical wisdom for anyone leaving well-traveled roads for muddy forest tracks and landings on obscure beaches, as well as asking important questions about wealth and poverty, democracy, and being "modern."

Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Chinese Dynasties Japanese Periods Involved in the Japanese Shih-shuo Imitations Introduction Part 1. From Character Appraisal to Character Writing: The Formation of the Shih-shuo Genre Chapter 1. Character Appraisal: The Foundation of the Shih-shuo t’i Chapter 2. Character Appraisal and the Formation of Wei-Chin Spirit Chapter 3. Shih-shuo t’i: A Sui Generis Genre Part 2. The Narrative Art of the Shih-shuo hsin-yü Chapter 4. Between Order and Disorder: The Shih-shuo Taxonomy of Human Nature Chapter 5. Using Body to Depict Spirit: The Shih-shuo Characterization of “Persons” Part 3. Discontinuity along the Line of Continuity: Imitations of the Shih-shuo hsin-yü Chapter 6. Body and Heart: T’ang and Sung Imitations Chapter 7. Things and Intent: Ming and Ch’ing Imitations Chapter 8. Milk and Scent: Women Shih-shuo Chapter 9. An Alien Analogue: The Japanese Imitation Daitō seigo Chapter 10. New and Old: The Last Wave of Shih-shuo Imitations Conclusion: The Self and the Mirror Notes Glossary Selected Bibliography Index