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New release "The Narration of China" Highlights Latest Research in Global Sinology
“Looking at the catalogue of the manuscript, I feel as if I have returned to the time when I was studying in Madison (Wisconsin) 30 years ago. I will always remember how Professor Nienhauser sometimes moved his literature classes and Shiji (The Grand Scribe’s Records) translation workshops to his residence,” as written in the preface to the recently published The Narration of China by Professor Chen Zhi, President of Beijing Normal–Hong Kong Baptist University and Director of the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology at Hong Kong Baptist University.
To honor the 80th birthday of Professor William H. Nienhauser, Jr.—an internationally renowned Sinologist and the Halls-Bascom Professor Emeritus of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison—Professor Chen Zhi curated and edited the commemorative two-volume set, The Narration of China. Professor Chen, who serves as President of Beijing Normal–Hong Kong Baptist University and Director of the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology at Hong Kong Baptist University, oversaw the publication of this work in the prestigious "Ancient Languages and Civilizations" series by Brill.
Collecting 22 scholarly articles, this festschrift features contributions from Professor Nienhauser's lifelong friends, former colleagues, students, and younger colleagues. Professor Chen noted, “It is a testament to the support we received from leading figures in the field, such as Professors David Knechtges, Edward Shaughnessy, Haun Saussy, Hans van Ess, Robin Yates, Victor Mair, Charles Hartman, Julia Murray, and Scott Cook.” “In addition to faculty and students from the Department of East Asian Studies," he added, "the Nienhauser Residence frequently hosted visiting scholars from other institutions—many of whom later contributed to this festschrift.”
Volume I “Ancient China between the Lines,” focuses on excavated manuscripts and transmitted texts, tracing their origins, transformations and developments. Through close textual analysis and historical verification, it reveals the rich intellectual and literary landscape of the pre-Qin and Han periods. Topics include the editing of the Mu Tianzi Zhuan; the “Rite of Yinzhi (Drinking Celebration)” and related poems recorded on the Tsinghua bamboo slips; the analects passage “No Distinction of Classes in Teaching?”; the Peking University bamboo-strip manuscript Fan yin (Contra Immoderation); Sima Qian’s conception of a “universal mind”; subtle criticism of Zhang Qian in the Shiji; judicial evidence concerning official malfeasance in Eastern Han China drawn; political education and artistic integration in the early Southern dynasties; factional strife involving Li Jing, Duke of Wei; and Zhang Yue’s leadership and patronage of poetic circles in the early Kai Yuan era, which served as a prelude to the golden age of Tang poetry.
Volume II “Medieval and Early Modern China, Expanding Horizons,” focuses on poetry, fiction, and anecdotal literature from the Tang dynasty onward. Adopting multiple interdisciplinary perspectives, it covers narratology, iconology, cross-cultural studies, and cultural memory. The main topics include the Confucian connotations in Li Bai’s poetry; the reconstruction of ancient pronunciations in Tang poetry; narratives of woman vengeance in the Tang dynasty; close readings of Li Shangyin’s poetry; micro-cultural memory in Tang yulin, the reinterpretation of Tang anecdotes in the Northern Song, the decoding of examination dreams in Yijian zhi, the evolution of the Apricot Altar (Xingtan tu) images; the dual-sovereignty system of the Southern Song; representations of Beijing in Western texts; the narration of epidemic diseases in late Ming tales of the strange; and fictive language and vulgar words in the commentaries on Honglou meng.
The publication of this two-volume collection, distinguished by its diverse perspectives and rigorous scholarship, not only represents a high-level synthesis of the latest advancements in global Sinology but also attests to Professor Nienhauser's exceptional contributions and profound academic influence through over six decades of dedicated research and his groundbreaking English translation of the Shiji. Professor Nienhauser expressed that these festschrifts are the most treasured gift he has received for his 80th birthday, extending his heartfelt gratitude for this profound academic tribute and the immense effort invested by all the contributing authors throughout the publication process.
Professor Chen Zhi expressed his hope for the collection: "It is intended for all the colleagues and students who have found a mentor and friend in Professor and Mrs Nienhauser; for those good friends who will always remember their warm hospitality; and finally, for every reader who respects the profound dedication to scholarship that lies at the heart of Professor Nienhauser's legacy."
