Reception History and Early Chinese Classics

Bibliographic Data

ID3387280
AuthorsTobias Benedikt Zürn (0000-0002-8508-763X, Reed College, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume13
Issue12
Pages1224
Publication date2022-12-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel13121224
OpenAlexW4313404240
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited55

Thus far, the study of early China and its texts is dominated by originalist approaches that try to excavate the authentic meaning of the classics. In this article, I promote the idea that a shift in focus from the intentions of the authors to the readers' concrete responses could meaningfully accompany our research on the classics' "original" meaning. Beyond merely illuminating the cultural and intellectual environments in which the various receptions were produced, such research on the classics' myriad interpretations could also serve as a postcolonial catalyst, helping us identify field-specific trends and reading strategies that, often unnoticed, impact our understandings of early Chinese texts. In other words, reception history would not only give us insights into the history of early Chinese classics and the variegated worlds they inhabited. It would also help us illuminate and reflect upon the ways we researchers shape and preconfigure our visions of premodern China and its texts

Aesthetics · Art · China · Epistemology · History of China · Linguistics · Literature · Sociology · Vision · Anthropology · Chinese history and philosophy · Classics · History · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Japanese History and Culture · Philosophy

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access