Description
Book SynopsisThe modern imagination of classical Chinese thought has long been dominated by Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, and other “Masters” of the Warring States period. Michael Hunter argues that this approach neglects the far more central role of poetry, and the
Shijing (
Classic of Poetry) in particular, in the formation of the philosophical tradition.
Trade ReviewAn outstanding book focused on reconstructing the worldview of the
Shijing and the role that worldview played in the development of early Chinese philosophy. This is a tremendously exciting work that will force a rethinking of many assumptions in the field concerning how we understand early Chinese thought. -- Michael Puett, coeditor of
The Huainanzi and Textual Production in Early ChinaThis is a remarkably constructive book. Building upon the achievements of recent revisionist scholarship regarding the
Shi and armed with the tools of the digital humanities, Hunter restores the
Shi to its rightful place at the center of early Chinese thought as the text to which all other texts return. -- Griet Vankeerberghen, coeditor of
Chang'an 26 BCE: An Augustan Age in ChinaHunter presents a radically different perspective on early Chinese literature, putting the
Shi center stage and reading all other traditions through that genre. This shift is likely to generate lively debate in the entire field of early China studies and has the potential to open up new avenues of research. -- Matthias Richter, author of
The Embodied Text: Establishing Textual Identity in Early Chinese ManuscriptsThis is an extremely refreshing and inspiring placement of the
Odes at the center of thought from the Warring States into the early Chinese imperial period. Hunter convincingly shows how the notion of coming home pervades the
Shi and, through them, a wide array of other texts. By doing this, he also reconsiders the dominance of all too familiar boundaries and academic disciplines. -- Carine Defoort, coeditor of
The Legitimacy of Chinese PhilosophyReestablishing the
Shijing as a text of major philosophical significance,
The Poetics of Early Chinese Thought will not only incite vehement debates among scholars working on early Chinese thought, but also has the potential to open up new avenues of research in the entire field of early Chinese studies. -- Lisa Chu Shen * China Review *
The exemplary clarity and convincing argumentation of [this] book contribute to a new way to study Chinese intellectual history, avoiding the myopic over-emphasizing of ‘Masters’ texts, and acknowledging the essentially important anonymous compositions amongst which the
Shi are of paramount importance. -- Yegor Grebnev * Monumenta Serica *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Reading the
Shi2. A Poetry of Return
3.
Shi Poetics Beyond the
Shi4. The
Shi and the
Verses of Chu (
Chuci 楚辭)
5. Comparing Canons: The
Shi Versus the Masters
Conclusion: A Classic of N/Odes
Notes
Bibliography
Index
