The interpretive function of 'Shih chi' 14, "The Table by Years of the Twelve Feudal Lords.": An article from: The Journal of the American Oriental Society
Book Details
Author(s)Grant R. Hardy
PublisherAmerican Oriental Society
ISBN / ASINB000926D9G
ISBN-13978B000926D98
AvailabilityAvailable for download now
Sales Rank99,999,999
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
This digital document is an article from The Journal of the American Oriental Society, published by American Oriental Society on January 1, 1993. The length of the article is 8825 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the author: The ten tables in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's Shih chi have often been considered as supplements to the main text. While they are useful for coordinating chronologies and establishing an historical framework for the narrative portions of Ssu-ma's history, they may also have an independent, interpretive function. This is the case with Shih chi 14, "The Table by Years of the Twelve Feudal Lords." An analysis of this chapter and its sources demonstrates that Ssu-ma organized this table to communicate his own judgments of historical significance. Through his selection of events, Ssu-ma highlights major points of the Shih chi narratives, corrects and supplements the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Tso chuan, and provides a synopsis of the Spring and Autumn Era which is somewhat independent of the rest of the Shih chi (particularly with respect to portents). In addition, Ssu-ma's emphasis on political change can serve as a counter-example to characterizations of the annals genre in the Western historiographical tradition.
Citation Details
Title: The interpretive function of 'Shih chi' 14, "The Table by Years of the Twelve Feudal Lords."
Author: Grant R. Hardy
Publication:The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1993
Publisher: American Oriental Society
Volume: v113 Issue: n1 Page: p14(11)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
From the author: The ten tables in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's Shih chi have often been considered as supplements to the main text. While they are useful for coordinating chronologies and establishing an historical framework for the narrative portions of Ssu-ma's history, they may also have an independent, interpretive function. This is the case with Shih chi 14, "The Table by Years of the Twelve Feudal Lords." An analysis of this chapter and its sources demonstrates that Ssu-ma organized this table to communicate his own judgments of historical significance. Through his selection of events, Ssu-ma highlights major points of the Shih chi narratives, corrects and supplements the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Tso chuan, and provides a synopsis of the Spring and Autumn Era which is somewhat independent of the rest of the Shih chi (particularly with respect to portents). In addition, Ssu-ma's emphasis on political change can serve as a counter-example to characterizations of the annals genre in the Western historiographical tradition.
Citation Details
Title: The interpretive function of 'Shih chi' 14, "The Table by Years of the Twelve Feudal Lords."
Author: Grant R. Hardy
Publication:The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1993
Publisher: American Oriental Society
Volume: v113 Issue: n1 Page: p14(11)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
