Writing and authority in early China
By: Mark Edward Lewis.
Series: SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Albany
Language: eng
Number of pages: 544
Subjects: Chinese literature -- To 221 B.C. -- History and criticism -- Theory, etc.; Chinese literature -- Political aspects.
Description: This book traces the evolving uses of writing to command assent and obedience in early China, an evolution that culminated in the establishment of a textual canon as the foundation of imperial authority. Its central theme is the emergence of this body of writings as the textual double of the state, and of the text-based sage as the double of the ruler.

The book examines the full range of writings employed in early China, such as divinatory records, written communications with ancestors, government documents, the collective writings of philosophical and textual traditions, speeches attributed to historical figures, chronicles, verse anthologies, commentaries, and encyclopedic compendia.

Lewis shows how these writings served to administer populations, control officials, form new social groups, invent new models of authority, and create an artificial language whose master generated power and whose graphs became potent objects.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 497-526) and index.