Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe Emergence of Iranian Nationalism breaks new ground in the study of recent Iranian history. It reveals and analyzes the dirty little secret of Iranian nationalism, namely that it contains a racist dimension. It is not only a well-researched and well-written book, it is also a courageous book. -- Houchang Chehabi, Boston University
The Emergence of Iranian Nationalism is a major contribution to the intellectual history of modern Iran. Reza Zia-Ebrahimi has brought into critical focus some of the most pious and intractable certainties that have long defined the ideology of Iranian nationalism. Both erudite and iconoclastic, this book is sure to stir much contentious debate. -- Afshin Marashi, author of
Nationalizing Iran: Culture, Power, and the State, 1870-1940Zia-Ebrahimi persuasively argues that the texts of a few writers furnished the basis of a nationalist ideology asserting the Aryan essence of an ancient nation, an ideology taken up by Iran's Pahlavi rulers and still significant. His book is a substantial contribution to modern Iranian history and has relevance beyond the field of Iranian studies. Zia-Ebrahimi's argument is related to key debates in the field of nationalism studies and his methods can be illuminatingly applied to other cases. -- John Breuilly, London School of Economics
The Emergence of Iranian Nationalism brings to final and definitive fruition a body of critical thinking about the origin and rise of Iranian nationalism deeply rooted in the Eurocentric racism of the nineteenth century. Zia-Ebrahimi lasers in on the crucial instantiations of this powerful ethnocentric construction of the nation, carefully dissecting and critically dismantling them. This is a must read and an exemplary piece of scholarship declaring the rise of a new generation of scholars who are overriding the clichés and hang-ups of their parental generation. -- Hamid Dabashi, Columbia University
An important work and should be read by anyone interested in modern Iranian studies.... Highly recommended. * Choice *
Zia-Ebrahimi’s study is daring, innovative, and meticulous and is an essential discussion—for both public and academic readers. -- Rasoul Aliakbari * The Historian *
The Emergence of Iranian Nationalism deftly tackles one of the most poisonous and culturally destabilizing features of the modern Iranian cultural zeitgeist . . . This insightful monograph is as groundbreaking as it is incisive and it will surely become one of the standard ‘go-to’ texts on the subject. * British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies *
Richly evocative and provocative . . . This is an original study that shows the immense complexity of Iranian nationalism. * Perspectives on Politics *
It is rare that an academic study centrally concerned with a nineteenth-century discourse is so urgently relevant to contemporary intellectual and political debates. Reza Zia Ebrahimi's first monograph is just such a work. * International Journal of Middle East Studies *
A brave book in that it is the first major attempt to address the unwelcome issue of the racist strand in Iranian culture, its origin and its divisive impact. It is to be highly commended for its innovative identification and definition of dislocative nationalism, and its original, wide-ranging argument. * Iranian Studies *
Table of ContentsPreface, by Lewis Lancaster
Acknowledgments
Conventions
Introduction, by Jiang Wu and Lucille Chia
Part I: Overview1. The Chinese Buddhist Canon Through the Ages: Essential Categories and Critical Issues in the Study of a Textual Tradition, by Jiang Wu
2. From the "Cult of the Book" to the "Cult of the Canon": A Neglected Tradition in Chinese Buddhism, by Jiang Wu
Part II: The Formative Period3. Notions and Visions of the Canon in Early Chinese Buddhism, by Stefano Zacchetti
4. Fei Changfang's Lidai sanbao ji and Its Role in the Formation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon, by Tanya Storch
Part III: The Advent of Printing5. The Birth of the First Printed Canon: The Kaibao Edition and Its Impact, by Jiang Wu, Lucille Chia, and Chen Zhichao
6. The Life and Afterlife of Qisha Canon, by Lucille Chia
7. Managing the Dharma Treasure: Collation, Carving, Printing, and Distribution of the Canon in Late Imperial China, by Darui Long
Part IV: The Canon Beyond China8. Better Than the Original: The Creation of Goryeo Canon and the Formation of Giyang Pulgyo, by Jiang Wu and Ron Dziwenka
9. Taisho Canon: Devotion, Scholarship, and Nationalism in the Creation of the Modern Buddhist Canon in Japan, by Greg Wilkinson
Appendix 1. A Brief Survey of the Printed Editions of the Chinese Buddhist Canon, by Li Fuhua and He Mei
Appendix 2. The Creation of the CBETA Electronic Tripitaka Collection in Taiwan, by Aming Tu
Bibliography
List of Contributors
Index
