The Soundscape of the Huainanzi 淮南子
Poetry, Performance, Philosophy, and Praxis in Early China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20380423 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Tsung Kei Wong (0000-0002-6569-2832, Princeton University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Pages | 515-539 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Early China (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0362-5028 • E-ISSN: 2325-2324 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/eac.2022.6 |
| OpenAlex | W4286239163 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
This article proposes that oral performance could be a philosophical activity in early China. The focus is on the Huainanzi , a densely rhymed philosophical treatise compiled by Liu An in the second century b.c.e . I show that the tome contains various sound-correlated poetic forms that are intended not only to enable textual performance but also, by means of aural mimesis, to encourage the intuitive understanding of its philosophical messages. Thus scholars of ancient poetry, philosophy, or intellectual history, despite being habituated to reading silently and observing disciplinary boundaries, should be attentive to these sonic patterns in order to do justice to the poetic- cum -philosophical richness and originality of this text. More importantly, I argue that these poetic forms enable readers and audiences to experience, embody, and, above all, enact the Way through textual performance. Thanks to the sound patterns of the Huainanzi , the somatic processes of aural reading and philosophical praxis can occur simultaneously. Vocalization becomes an actionable and repeatable spiritual exercise, which facilitates the intuitive understanding and internalization of philosophical values. In other words, the perennial knowing–doing gap is heroically closed by the Huainanzi
Acoustics · Aesthetics · Art · Discipline · Epistemology · Linguistics · Literature · Poetry · Praxis · Social science · Sociology · Soundscape · Chinese history and philosophy · Philosophy · Renaissance and Early Modern Studies
Voices and Books in the English Renaissance
Intertextuality and Memory in Early Chinese Writings
Echoing Rulership—understanding Musical References in the Huainanzi
The Art of Chinese Philosophy
Literary Forms of Argument in Early China
"Western Han Aesthetics and the Genesis of the "Fu
A Preliminary Analysis of Rhymed Passages in the Daybook Manuscripts
Chinese Texts and Philosophical Contexts
The HanImaginaireof Writing as Weaving
The Singing Sage
| Highly cited | No |
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