Inhabiting Literary Beijing on the Eve of the Manchu Conquest
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO CITY ON EDGE: INHABITING LITERARY BEIJING ON THE EVE OF THE MANCHU CONQUEST A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE HUMANITIES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND CIVILIZATIONS BY NAIXI FENG CHICAGO, ILLINOIS DECEMBER 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. viii 1 A SKETCH OF THE NORTHERN CAPITAL...................................................................1 1.1 The Book ........................................................................................................................4 1.2 The Methodology .........................................................................................................25 1.3 The Structure ................................................................................................................36 2 THE HAUNTED FRONTIER: COMMEMORATING DEATH IN THE ACCOUNTS OF THE STRANGE .................39 2.1 The Nunnery in Honor of the ImperiaL Sister ..............................................................41 2.2 Ant Mounds, a Speaking SkulL, and the Southern ImperiaL Park ................................50 2.3 A Mushroom Cloud, Fire God, and the Creation of Heavenly Punishment ................63 ConcLusion .........................................................................................................................81 3 THE CITY IN DECAY: WRITING THE NORTHERN LANDSCAPE ..................................................................83 3.1 Landscape Literature on Beijing in the Ming ..............................................................85 3.2 The Innovation of the Literary Style ..........................................................................100 3.3 The Northern Landscape ............................................................................................110 ConcLusion .......................................................................................................................125 4 ON POLITICAL LEGITIMACY: READING STONE INSCRIPTIONS AND THE DISCOURSE OF THE PAST ..........127 4.1 The ImperiaL Academy ..............................................................................................129 ii 4.2 The Stone Drums .......................................................................................................139 4.3 The ChaLLenge of Reading .........................................................................................154 ConcLuding Reflections ....................................................................................................163 5 READING A SKETCH: THE CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION OF THE URBAN MISCELLANY ............165 5.1 Commemorative Reading ..........................................................................................167 5.2 Literary Reading ........................................................................................................183 5.3 Modern Reading .........................................................................................................189 ConcLusion .......................................................................................................................199 CODA ..........................................................................................................................................201 APPENDIX 1 EXTANT MISCELLANIES ON BEIJING .........................................................209 APPENDIX 2 TRANSLATIONS OF SELECTED ESSAYS ....................................................211 APPENDIX 3 SELECTED TRAVELOUGES OF BEIJING IN THE MING ............................218 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................222 iii LIST OF FIGURES 1.1 Northern border garrisons of the Ming dynasty and the Great WaLL. ...................................9 1.2 Book page from A Sketch of Sites and Objects in the Imperial Capital. ............................15 1.3 IlLustration of the dissertation’s structure and key methodology. .......................................31 4.1 An ink rubbing of the Stone Drum “Wujü,” made during the Song dynasty. ..................143 4.2 Photo of the mortar-shaped drum. ....................................................................................153 5.1 An advertisement on A Sketch in Shenbao, September 24, 1934. ....................................197 6.1 Photographs of Zhengyang Gate and Xizhi Gate. ............................................................205 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without living in Beijing during my undergraduate years at Peking University from 2008 to 2012, I could not have the idea to write a dissertation on this city. And without the inteLLectuaL community of teachers and friends, from each of whom I received support and assistance, this dissertation could not be deveLoped and completed. I would like to express my gratitude to my academic advisor and the chair of my dissertation committee, Professor Judith ZeitLin. From the beginning of the doctoraL program to the completion of the dissertation, she guided me through every step by teaching me how to read, think, and write. She demonstrated how to be a passionate and creative scholar, and her keen sense of what topics are interesting and important kept me on the straight through the years working on this project. Professor Sophie Volpp has aLways been a supportive teacher and a great friend. Five years ago, in the YaLi’s café on Oxford St., BerkeLey, she encouraged me to deveLop new methods in the study of late-Ming prose, aLthough in this fieLd the discussion of Language, genre, and style is aLways a chaLLenge. Her words laid the foundation for this dissertation. My academic life has benefited so much from the numerous seminars and conversations with Professor Wu Hung. His insights of Chinese history and astute sense of methodology have a profound impact on me. Professor Jacob Eyferth, with his caLm and criticaL spirit, awakened my interests in modern history and the history of inteLLectuaL thought. As an undergraduate at PKU, my advisor, Professor Xu Yitao, established a modeL of working diLigentLy, thinking criticaLLy, and teaching patientLy. Professor Li Pengfei, with his erudition in poetry and noveL, initiated me into the deLights of traditionaL Chinese Literature. During my study at the University of Chicago, I have the greatest fortune to work with many outstanding scholars. I would like to express my gratitude to Professors Edward Shaughnessy, v Ping Foong, ArieL Fox, Paola Iovene, Wei-cheng Lin, MichaeL Bourdaghs, and ReginaLd Jackson. Much of the research for this dissertation was conducted with the generous support of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago and the MeLLon Foundation. In Tokyo, I owe particular thanks to Professor Oki Yasushi, who not only accommodated me in the Institute of Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo, but aLso generousLy provided many feedbacks on my research projects. I am aLso grateful for Professors Chen Jie, Xiong Yuanbao, Zhong Yijiang, and my friend Cai Yanmei. Their work broadened my understanding of China and Japan and inspired me to think about East Asia in a more panoramic way. I would Like to thank scholars from other institutes in the US and China, who have shared their thoughts and suggestions at various points in the deveLopment of this dissertation: James Hargett, Joe Dennis, He Yuming, Bruce Rusk, Chen Kaijun, Wai-yee Li, Yang Xiaoshan, Steven MiLes, Li Yuhang, Paola Varsano, Guo Yingde, Zhu Yi, and Ge Zhaoguang. I learned a great deaL from my friends, who have pushed me to think more carefulLy about the meaning of my work. I am very grateful to ALia Breitwieser, Tom KeLLy, Tang Pao-chen, Yan Yuqian, Zheng Yiren, Annie Feng, Matt WiLd, and Zhou Boqun. SpeciaL thanks must go to Pan Yiying, Zhang Xi, and my roommate Zhou Zhenru—they aLways accompanied me throughout the time of difficulty. My parents, Feng Libin and Wang Zhiying, spent aLL efforts to let me receive the best education. Their love and support aLLowed me to pursue my career without fear. FinaLLy, with aLL my love this dissertation is dedicated to Liu Xudong—my husband and zhiji 知己. In the past decade, we stood together during the long journeys in the world, from Beijing, to BerkeLey, vi Chicago, and Tokyo. His loyaLty to knowLedge and faith in humanities have completeLy changed my life. vii ABSTRACT As the capitaL city of the last three imperiaL dynasties—Yuan (1271–1368), Ming (1368–1644), and Qing (1644–1912)—and of contemporary China from 1949 onward, Beijing has long featured in literature; however, it was not untiL the last decade of the Ming that writers began to establish a systematic account of the city’s history and its culturaL reputation. This dissertation explores the changing reLationship among literary practice, urban experience, and historicaL writing in a criticaL moment prior to the dynastic colLapse. Focusing on the literary environments of Beijing, this project proceeds from a neglected, yet wideLy influentiaL urban misceLLany published in 1635, A Sketch of Sites and Objects