Ways with Words presents interpretive essays by scholars from different disciplines on seven core, premodern classical Chinese texts. The remarkable diversity of these works--drawn from literature, philosophy, religion, and art history--challenges the presumption of a monolithic Chinese tradition that has been promoted by scholars and popular culture alike, both in China and the West.
The texts themselves include a poem from the Classic of Poetry compiled in the sixth century b.c.e.; passages from Mencius and Zhuangzi; the Heart Sutra; a poem by Du Fu and the Biography of Yingying by Yuan Zhen, both written during the Tang dynasty; and Notes on the Method for the Brush, a tenth-century text attributed to Jing Hao. Both the original Chinese versions and the translations are provided for each primary text. There are at least two essays--when possible from scholars in different fields--on each work. The volume as a whole demonstrates the various ways in which the modern Western reader can confront the impressive variety of texts from the classical Chinese tradition.
Abbreviations xiii Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Reading Texts in the Chinese Humanities 1(10) Sheng min (Shi Jing (Classic of Poetry), Mao 245: ``Birth of the People) Translations 11(30) Bernhard Karlgren Stephen Owen 12(2) Questions about the Language of Sheng min 14(11) David R. Knechtges Interpreting Sheng Min 25(6) Stephen Owen Reading Sheng min 31(3) Willard Peterson Perspective on Readings of Sheng min 34(7) Pauline Yu Mencius 2A.2 Translation 41(17) D. C. Lau Are You a Sage? 45(4) Willard Peterson ``There Has Never Been One Greater Than Confucius 49(5) Peter Bol Perspective on Readings of Mencius 2A.2 54(4) Stephen Owen Qi wu lun (Zhuangzi: ``Seeing Things as Equal) Translation: ``The Sorting Which Evens Things Out 58(55) A. C. Graham Look at the Finger, Not Where It Is Pointing 71(7) Stephen H. West Vision and Identity in Qi wu lun 78(15) Martin Powers On Making Noise in Qi wu lun 93(10) Wai-yee Li Perspective on Readings of Qi wu lun: I Am Not Dreaming This 103(10) Willard Peterson Heart Sutra (Xin jing) 113(33) Stephen F. Teiser Stephen H. West 116(2) The Heart Sutra 118(3) Michael A. Fuller Heart Sutra 121(9) Stephen H. West Perspective on Reading of the Heart Sutra: The Perfection of Wisdom and the Fear of Buddhism 130(16) Stephen F. Teiser Zi jing fu Fengxian young huai wu bai zi (Du Fu, ``Going from the Capital to Fengxian) 146(27) Stephen Owen Whats in a Title? ``Expressing My Feelings on Going from the Capital to Fengxian Prefecture: Five Hundred Characters by Du Fu 149(11) David R. Knechtges Du Fu, ``Song of My Cares en route from the Capital to Fengxian 160(5) Lynn Struve The Crisis of Witnessing in Du Fus ``A Song of My Thoughts When Going from the Capital to Fengxian: Five Hundred Words 165(5) Wai-yee Li Perspective on Readings of Du Fu, Zi jing fu Fengxian yong huai wu bai zi 170(3) Stephen Owen Yingying zhuan (Yuan Zhen, ``Biography of Yingying) 173(29) Stephen Owen The Story of Yingying 182(3) Pauline Yu Mixture of Genres and Motives for Fiction in ``Yingyings Story 185(7) Wai-yee Li On Yingying zhuan, by Yuan Zhen 192(6) Katherine Carlitz Perspective on Readings of Yingying zhuan 198(4) Peter Bol Bi fa ji (Jing Hao, ``Notes on the Method for the Brush) 202(43) Stephen H. West Bi fa ji 213(6) Stephen Owen How to Read a Chinese Painting: Jing Haos Bi fa ji 219(17) Martin Powers Perspective on Readings of ``The Record of the Method of the Brush 236(9) Willard Peterson Glossary 245(16) Chinese Texts 261(16) Contributors 277(2) Index 279
Pauline Yu is Dean of Humanities and Professor of Chinese Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. Peter Bol is Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. Stephen Owen is James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. Willard Peterson is Professor of East Asian Studies at Princeton University.
