Monographs in Tang Official Historiography: Perspectives from the Technical Treatises of the History of Sui (Sui shu)

Description

This book examines the role of medieval authors in writing the history of ancient science. It features essays that explore the content, structure, and ideas behind technical writings on medieval Chinese state history. In particular, it looks at the Ten Treatises of the current History of Sui, which provide insights into the writing on the history of such fields as astronomy, astrology, omenology, economics, law, geography, metrology, and library science. Three treatises are known to have been written by Li Chunfeng, one of the most important mathematicians, astronomers, and astrologers in Chinese history. The book not only opens a new window on the figure of Li Chunfeng by exploring what his writings as a historian of science tell us about him as a scientist and vice versa, it also discusses how and on what basis the individual treatises were written. The essays address such themes as (1) the recycling of sources and the question of reliability and objectivity in premodern history-writing; (2) the tug of war between conservatism and innovation; (3) the imposition of the author’s voice, worldview, and personal and professional history in writing a history of a field of technical expertise in a state history; (4) the degree to which modern historians are compelled to speak to their own milieu and ideological beliefs. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction (Daniel P. Morgan, Damien Chaussende)....Pages 1-25 Front Matter ....Pages 27-27 The Life and Intellectual World of Li Chunfeng (602–670) (Howard L. Goodman)....Pages 29-49 Numbers with Histories: Li Chunfeng on Harmonics and Astronomy (Daniel P. Morgan, Howard L. Goodman)....Pages 51-87 Scholarship and Politics in Seventh Century China from the Viewpoint of Li Chunfeng’s Writing on Histories (Yiwen Zhu)....Pages 89-116 The Compilation of the Astronomical Portion of the ‘Treatise on Harmono-Metrology and Mathematical Astronomy’ and Its Impact (Liang Li)....Pages 117-141 Heavenly Patterns (Daniel P. Morgan)....Pages 143-179 The ‘Treatise on the Wuxing’ (Wuxing zhi) (Michael Nylan)....Pages 181-233 Front Matter ....Pages 235-235 The Treatise on Economics and Its Influences (Béatrice L’Haridon)....Pages 237-257 The Treatise on Law (Frédéric Constant)....Pages 259-286 Intertextuality, Customs and Regionalism in the ‘Geographical Treatise’ (Alexis Lycas)....Pages 287-322 The Art of Producing a Catalogue: The Meaning of ‘Compilations’ for the Organisation of Ancient Knowledge in Tang Times (Pablo Ariel Blitstein)....Pages 323-341 Epilogue: Treatises According to Tang Historian Liu Zhiji (Damien Chaussende)....Pages 343-357 Back Matter ....Pages 359-371