Turning Point
A Model of Becoming in Early Medieval Chinese Autobiographical Writings
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4951544 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xiaofei Tian (0000-0002-3867-7629, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 145 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-25 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the American Oriental Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0279 • E-ISSN: 2169-2289 |
| Publisher | American Oriental Society (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.7817/jaos.145.2.2025.ar019 |
| OpenAlex | W4413718812 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
Early Chinese autobiographical writings tend to paint a still portrait of who the author is: his temperament, personality, and achievements. They operate on a model of being and, at best, of a continuous, lifelong self-cultivation and a gradual process of self-actualization. In the fourth century, we see an emphasis on transformation in an author's life writing. A moment that sheds light on the past and points to the future is singled out as a turning point, and this turning point creates a new possibility for autographical writings. This article suggests that in early medieval Chinese autobiographical writings, instead of a model of being, we have a model of becoming; instead of a depiction of what is, we see a narrative of change. The narrative of change owes a profound debt to Buddhist stories of conversion and enlightenment
Geometry · Point (geometry) · Chinese history and philosophy · Humanities and Social Sciences · Japanese History and Culture · Mathematics
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |