Time and Language (Hardcover)

Peter C. Perdue

ISBN 10: 0824894073 / ISBN 13: 9780824894078

Published by University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, HI, 2023

About this Item

Hardcover. Chinas past and present have been in a continuous dialogue throughout history, one that is heavily influenced by time and language: the temporal orientation and the linguistic apparatus used to express and solidify identity, ideas, and practices. Presenting a host of in-depth case studies, Time and Language: New Sinology and Chinese History argues for and demonstrates the significance of "New Sinology" by restoring the role of language/philology in the research and understanding of how modern China emerged. Reading the modern as a careful and ongoing conversation with the past renders the "new" in a different perspective. This volume is a significant step toward a new historical narrative of Chinas modern history, one wherein "ruptures" can exist in tandem with continuities. The collection accentuates the deep connection between language and powerone that spans well across Chinas long pastand hence the immense consequences of linguistic-related methodology to the comprehension of power structures and identity in China.Each of the essays in this volume tackles these issues, the methodological and the thematic, from a different angle but they all share the Sinological prism of analysis and the basic understanding that a much longer timeframe is required to make sense of Chinese modernity. The languages examined are diverse, including modern and classical Chinese, as well as Manchu and Japanese. Taken together they bring a spectrum of linguistic perspectives and hence a spectrum of power relations and identities to the forefront. While the essays focus on late Qing and early twentieth-century eras, they refer often to earlier periods, which are necessary to making real sense of later eras. The methodological and the thematic do not only converge, but also generate a plea for fostering and expanding this approach in current and future studies. Argues for and demonstrates the significance of New Sinology by bringing language/philology back into the research and understanding of how modern China emerged, and presenting a host of concrete, in-depth, case studies, in which the use of New Sinology sheds new light on Chinese history. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780824894078

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Time and Language (Hardcover)
• Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, HI
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0824894073
• ISBN 13: 9780824894078
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

China’s past and present have been in a continuous dialogue throughout history, one that is heavily influenced by time and language: the temporal orientation and the linguistic apparatus used to express and solidify identity, ideas, and practices. Presenting a host of in-depth case studies, Time and Language: New Sinology and Chinese History argues for and demonstrates the significance of “New Sinology” by restoring the role of language/philology in the research and understanding of how modern China emerged. Reading the modern as a careful and ongoing conversation with the past renders the “new” in a different perspective. This volume is a significant step toward a new historical narrative of China’s modern history, one wherein “ruptures” can exist in tandem with continuities. The collection accentuates the deep connection between language and power―one that spans well across China’s long past―and hence the immense consequences of linguistic-related methodology to the comprehension of power structures and identity in China.

Each of the essays in this volume tackles these issues, the methodological and the thematic, from a different angle but they all share the Sinological prism of analysis and the basic understanding that a much longer timeframe is required to make sense of Chinese modernity. The languages examined are diverse, including modern and classical Chinese, as well as Manchu and Japanese. Taken together they bring a spectrum of linguistic perspectives and hence a spectrum of power relations and identities to the forefront. While the essays focus on late Qing and early twentieth-century eras, they refer often to earlier periods, which are necessary to making real sense of later eras. The methodological and the thematic do not only converge, but also generate a plea for fostering and expanding this approach in current and future studies.

About the Authors

Ori Sela is senior lecturer of East Asian studies at Tel Aviv University and currently serving as chair.

Zvi Ben-Dor Benite is professor in the Departments of History and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University.

Joshua A. Fogel is professor emeritus of history at York University in Toronto.

Peter Zarrow teaches in the History Department at the University of Connecticut.