Music motifs in Six Dynasties texts

This is a study of the music culture of the Six Dynasties era (220–589 CE), as represented in certain texts of the period, to uncover clues to the music culture that can be found in textual references to music. This study diverges from most scholarship on Six Dynasties music culture in four major ways. The first concerns the type of text examined: since the standard histories have been extensively researched, I work with other types of literature. The second is the casual and indirect nature of the references to music that I analyze: particularly when the focus of research is on ideas, most scholarship is directed at formal essays that explicitly address questions about the nature of music. My approach, in contrast, is to look at stories about behavior or casual remarks made in passing that are more indirect indications of ideas about music. The third difference is the nature of the theory applied: while much of the scholarship focuses on how to put our knowledge of Six Dynasties music practices and ideas into historical and cultural perspective, I apply theory from a number of disciplines to try to add some perspective from other regions and eras. The final point of methodological divergence builds on this theory to suggest perspectives that expand beyond an existing emphasis by scholars on the development of aesthetics; this study shows that the texts indicate a richer view of music than is implied by a narrow focus on aesthetics. Most of the material underlying the analysis in this study comes from Shishuo xinyu, Yanshi jiaxun, and Jinlouzi. These texts were produced roughly within the two-hundred-year period from the late fourth century to the late sixth century CE, subsequent to the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and within the latter half of the Six Dynasties period

'Scholars should be considered the last of the Four Classes': the case of scholar-official Zheng Banqiao

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Parodies of Qing: Ironic Voices in Romantic Chuanqi Plays

This dissertation looks into tongue-in-cheek moments in Chinese romantic chuanqi plays of the late 17th and 18th centuries and examines their reflections on the chuanqi dramatic genre and its close ties to the discourse of qing (sentiment, feeling). The discourse of qing during the late imperial era highlighted emotional authenticity and spontaneity as the defining elements of oneճ self and celebrated romantic love as an important manifestation of such elements. After Tang Xianzuճ dramatic masterpiece, The Peony Pavilion (Mudanting, 1598), pushed the literary rendition of the discourse of qing to its peak, chuanqi became an important vehicle for representing deep and spontaneous emotions. The standardization of the chuanqi genre, the concentrated interest in the theme of caizi-jiaren (scholar-beauty) love affairs, and the popularity of chuanqi as a writing practice among the educated elite led to the rather predictable problem of repetition and clich. But in many chuanqi compositions, we also witness increased self-reflexivity that directs romantic narratives toward the comic and the ironic. My dissertation focuses on four chuanqi plays that represent this rhetorical turn: Wu Bingճ The Remedy for Jealousy (Liaodu geng, ca. 1633), Ruan Dachengճ The Swallowճ Letter (Yanzi jian, 1642), Li Yuճ Ideal Love Matches (Yi zhong yuan, 1655), and Wang Yunճ A Dream of Glory (Fanhua meng, 1778). These plays underline the tension between the artificial conventions of the chuanqi genre and the emotional spontaneity that the genre is purported to convey. They also expose many incongruities and contradictions embodied in the concept of qing: qing as both authentic emotion and textual imitation, devoted love and abundant desire, an aspiration for transcendence and an excuse for mundane self-interest. Furthermore, these chuanqi plays and their commentaries demonstrate that behind these incongruities and contradictions lie contested understandings of gendered emotions and ambitions. This dissertation recognizes parodies of qing, glorified emotion, as a main source of amusement in romantic chuanqi plays. It is not only a study of a literary genre but also an inquiry into how the development of this genre facilitated reflections on one of the most important intellectual trends in late imperial China

Towards precision medicine:What are the stratification hypotheses to identify homogeneous inflammatory subgroups

Diverse lines of research testify a link, presumably causal, between immune dysregulation and the development, course and clinical outcome of psychiatric disorders. However, there is a large heterogeneity among the patients? individual immune profile and this heterogeneity prevents the development of precise diagnostic tools and the identification of therapeutic targets. The aim of this review was to delineate possible subgroups of patients on the basis of clinical dimensions, investigating whether they could lead to particular immune signatures and tailored treatments. We discuss six clinical entry points; genetic liability to immune dysregula-tion, childhood maltreatment, metabolic syndrome, cognitive dysfunction, negative symptoms and treatment resistance. We describe the associated immune signature and outline the effects of anti-inflammatory drugs so far. Finally, we discuss advantages of this approach, challenges and future research directions. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/