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Han Dynasty Classicism and the Making of Early Medieval Literati Culture University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2013 In Pursuit of the Great Peace: Han Dynasty Classicism and the Making of Early Medieval Literati Culture Lu Zhao University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, and the Asian History Commons Recommended Citation Zhao, Lu, "In Pursuit of the Great Peace: Han Dynasty Classicism and the Making of Early Medieval Literati Culture" (2013). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 826. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/826 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/826 For more information, please contact [email protected]. In Pursuit of the Great Peace: Han Dynasty Classicism and the Making of Early Medieval Literati Culture Abstract This dissertation is focused on communities of people in the Han dynasty (205 B.C.-A.D. 220) who possessed the knowledge of a corpus of texts: the Five Classics. Previously scholars have understood the popularity of this corpus in the Han society as a result of stiff ideology and imperial propaganda. However, this approach fails to explain why the imperial government considered them effective to convey propaganda in the first place. It does not capture the diverse range of ideas in classicism. This dissertation concentrates on Han classicists and treats them as scholars who constantly competed for attention in intellectual communities and solved problems with innovative solutions that were plausible to their contemporaries. This approach explains the nature of the apocryphal texts, which scholars have previously referred to as shallow and pseudo-scientific. It also er veals the root of the Scripture of the Great Peace in Han classicism and apocryphal texts. This dissertation explores how the study of the classics increasingly came to shape the literati culture and communities of the Han Empire and Early Medieval China. It shows that classicism led to innovations in solving crises of the empire as well as envisioning an ideal empire. The popularity of classicism gave birth to a peripatetic and epistolary scholarly culture marked by the use of calligraphy and poetry in the social life of newly mobile teachers and disciples throughout imperial China. These men strove to be erudite advisors to the destined emperor who would work to achieve the Great Peace, the utopian goal of a human society fully in accordance with Heaven. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group East Asian Languages & Civilizations First Advisor Paul R. Goldin Keywords Apocrypha, Great Peace, Han Classicism, Intellectual Innovations, Literati Communities, Manuscript Culture Subject Categories Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | Asian History | History This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/826 IN PURSUIT OF THE GREAT PEACE: HAN DYNASTY CLASSICISM AND THE MAKING OF EARLY MEDIEVAL LITERATI CULTURE Lu Zhao A DISSERTATION in East Asian Languages and Civilizations Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2013 Supervisor of Dissertation Signature_____________ Paul R. Goldin Professor, Chinese Thought Graduate Group Chairperson ____Signature_______________________ Nancy S. Steinhardt Professor of Chinese Art Dissertation Committee Paul R. Goldin Professor of Chinese Thought Randall Collins Dorothy Swaine Thomas Professor of Sociology Adam Smith Assistant Professor of Chinese Archeology Acknowledgment Although many guides to writing acknowledgment tell me to keep the acknowledgment concise without strong emotive language, I find it impossible to do so and do justice to the people to whom I am in debt. Even with that said, the thanks I give and how much these people contributed to my dissertation as well as my Ph. D. training are still understated. First ly, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Paul R. Goldin, my research advisor. His willingness to take me as his student not only makes me feel privileged, but also helps me to continue pursuing my dream of being a scholar. I have benefited from his insightful and carefully constructed arguments, succulent and clear writing style, upright work ethic, and a witty sense of humor. While granting me great liberty in choosing my topic, Dr. Goldin has always been responsible for providing me with patient guidance, helpful critiques, and practical suggestions. Without his constant help, I would not be able to finish this dissertation, not to mention being an elementary level scholar. I would like to give my special thanks to Dr. Nathan Sivin for his unfailing mentoring. As a polymath, Dr. Sivin has taught me Chinese medicine, astronomy, Daoist studies, writing skills, German, and even how to format my dissertation. More importantly, his broad academic curiosity and vision of breaking down the boundaries between specialized fields continue to inspire me. This dissertation took shape based on his vision that a historian should account for as many aspects of history as he/she can in the research. It also took shape via weekly discussions with him, via his careful examination of every single word of my draft, via his insightful critiques and advice, and via his meticulous corrections of my writing. I would also like to thank Professor Randall Collins and Dr. Adam Smith, two of my dissertation committee members. I have greatly benefitted from Professor Collins’ erudition in world intellectual history as well as his expertise in sociology. His sociological view shaped the theoretical skeleton of this dissertation, and his suggestions based on a comparative perspective never failed to stimulate me and ii improve this project. I am grateful that Dr. Smith insightfully pointed out many logical fallacies in my drafts. I also appreciate his enthusiastic encouragement and useful advice about tailoring my dissertation to be more accessible. I cannot thank them enough to tolerate my still-improving writing skills and still give me invaluable suggestions. As a non-native speaker of English, I would like to express my gratitude to Sarah A.G. Basham and Kelsey Seymour, my language partners. Without their patient and meticulous corrections of my English, my dissertation would hardly be intelligible. Sarah has been particularly helpful in confronting me with any part that is unclear and offering me means of fixing them. Her criticism, ranging from my choice of word to the structure of a chapter, helped to bring this dissertation to another level. Sarah and Kelsey’s flexibility in time schedule and willingness to help made me always able to submit my draft to the dissertation committee members with have undergone careful editing. I am thankful to Professor Nancy S. Steinhardt and Linda Greene. Professor Steinhardt as the graduate chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations has greatly supported me through my graduate career. Academic knowledge aside, she has not only provided me suggestions regarding my career design, but she also organized and led my defense. Linda has been tremendously helpful to me in navigating the administrative system throughout my graduate career. From registering for classes to preparing general exams, from dealing with my visa issues to taking care of my graduation procedures, Linda always comes to the rescue. I would like to thank my parents, who are always caring and supportive of my career choice. Without their moral and material support, I would not be able to start graduate school, let alone finish it. Their hard work and pursuit of professional excellence in their own field have set up a paragon for me to follow. Last but not least, I would like to thank my friends from this department: Sarah Basham, Kelsey Seymour, Zuo Lala, Daniel Sou, Kate Baldanza, Matt Anderson, Ren Sijie, Miki Morita, Zhang Jianwei, Wai Kit Wicky Tse, Wang Jiajia, Zhao Yanjie, Yilise Luo, Aurelia Campbell, Tim Clifford, Lindsey George, Noa Hegesh, Gabrielle iii Niu, Jeff Rice, Eiren Shea, Jonathan Smith, Song Yunu, Ori Tavor, Maddie Wilcox, and Zhou Yi. They have provided me tremendous support of various kinds. Their care and love transform all the hardships of my Ph. D. life into a beautiful, memorable journey. iv ABSTRACT IN PURSUIT OF THE GREAT PEACE: HAN DYNASTY CLASSICISM AND THE MAKING OF EARLY MEDIEVAL LITERATI CULTURE Lu Zhao Paul R. Goldin This dissertation is focused on communities of people in the Han dynasty (205 B.C.–A.D. 220) who possessed the knowledge of a corpus of texts, the Five Classics. Previously scholars have understood the popularity of this corpus in the Han society as a result of stiff ideology and imperial propaganda. However, this approach fails to explain why the imperial government considered them effective to convey propaganda in the first place. It does not capture the diverse range of ideas in classicism. This dissertation concentrates on Han classicists and treats them as scholars who constantly compete for attention in intellectual communities and solving problems with innovative solutions that were plausible to their contemporaries. This approach explains the nature of the apocryphal texts, which scholars previously have referred as shallow and pseudo-scientific. It also reveals the root of the Scripture of the Great Peace in Han classicism and apocryphal texts. This dissertation explores how the study of the classics increasingly came to shape the literati culture and communities of the Han Empire and Early Medieval China. It will show that classicism led to innovations in solving crises of the empire as well as envisioning an ideal empire. The popularity of classicism gave birth to a peripatetic and epistolary scholarly culture marked by the use of calligraphy and poetry in the social life of newly mobile teachers and disciples throughout imperial China. These men strove to be erudite advisors to the destined emperor who would work to achieve the Great Peace, the utopian goal of a human society fully in accordance with Heaven.
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