Conceptualization of Space within the Tang Landscape Quatrain

The thesis explores the poet’s creation of conceptualized space within the Tang landscape quatrain in the Tang dynasty (618-907) by usage of literary techniques, the focal point being that of temporal and spatial progression to create dynamic and static space. “Space” within the thesis is defined as the “matrix of which forms emerge, medium in which they are related,” a mentalization and visualization of breadth, depth, and width created within the artistic medium. I argue that the concision of Classical Chinese allows the poet to transcend the linguistic limitations imposed by rules of verse to create boundless, semantic space by constructing vivid tableaus of scene and emotion. In Classical Chinese, there are no verb tenses, no indication of plurality in nouns, and no gender or cases for pronouns. The poet must use language to mold intangible form into tangible existence. The deliberate application of ambiguity is a vital component in the creation of multi-layered dimensions of space within Classical Chinese poetry. The Tang dynasty is often known as the golden age of Chinese poetry, dominated by the emergence of new innovations and form as poetry writing became more ubiquitous. The breaking from traditional rules of verse allowed the poet to uniquely utilize space to further their reflections in their poetry. The thesis examines the poet’s creation of spatiality through two lenses of spatiality: creation of external space through landscape, and secondly, the creation of internal space through mental reflection upon that very landscape. The Tang poet approaches the landscape not only as a place setting, but also as an entire subliminal entity in which he aims to capture with his senses and perceptions to create space in which the reader can visualize. The descriptive poetry of the landscape quatrain is simply not a limitation as a medium of visual communication as Tang poets infuse layers of meaning with the economy of a few characters. The significance of framing this study within traditional poetic concerns is to understand the intersections of nature, landscape, literary technique, and aesthetic experience. There has been much academic scholarship on the poetry of the High Tang by scholars such as James J. Y. Liu, Stephen Owen, Burton Watson, just to name a few. However, the objective of this thesis is to offer a new perspective through the lens of spatial creation. Quatrains written by famous Tang poets, Li Bai (701-762), Wang Wei (701-761), and Meng Haoran (689-740) are selected to illustrate how the technique of progression is uniquely utilized to create depth and perspective of space.Asian Studie

Literal Translation and the Materiality of Language: Lu Xun as a Case

With his insistence upon the literal rendering in Chinese of foreign texts, especially regarding syntax, Lu Xun’s understanding of “literal translation” strikes a rather distinct note in the modern Chinese literary scene. The intention behind this method, namely, the aim to “retain the tone of the original,” reveals a generative perception of language that takes language as not just the bearer of the already existent thought, but as the formative element of thought that has meaning in itself. This paper seeks to delineate the structural constitution of the materiality of language as grasped by Lu Xun. By comparing the notion of the “tone” to Wilhelm von Humboldt’s notion of the “inner form of language” and situating it within the genealogy of qi, as well as tracing its link with Zhang Taiyan’s idea of “zhiyan,” I will attempt to reveal the philosophical and historical basis of Lu Xun’s principle of “literal translation” and its significance for Chinese literary modernity in general

Subjecthood in Pāṇini’s grammatical tradition

According to the common opinion, there is no place for the grammatical category of subject in Pāṇini’s grammar of Sanskrit. This is due to the fact that, according to many scholars of Pāṇini, Sanskrit lacks this category in its grammar. However, if we take into consideration a wider view of what Pāṇini’s grammar is and what language it presupposes, we can conclude that speaking of subject becomes more sensible, especially if we take into account some subjecthood features that so far have not been used in this respect. I conclude that, if not Pāṇini himself, some later commentators could have had a notion very similar to subject in their linguistic background, which induced them to interpret Pāṇini’s theories so that the idea of subjecthood eventually surfaced

Different atmospheres : of Sloterdijk, China, and site

This paper begins with an appreciation and critique of the remarkable work of Peter Sloterdijk which makes it possible to open up a number of issues concerning philosophy and its relation to the social sciences and humanities, most particularly concerning the role of evidence and the pervasiveness of Eurocentrism. In particular, the paper argues that it is possible to think of different ways of raising the spectre of space which are as plausible as the account provided by Sloterdijk’s spatial philosophy/philosophy of space. Navigating by the compass of classical Chinese civilisation, I proceed to sketch out a different diagnosis from that of Sloterdijk of how space is being materialised in contemporary Euro-American cultures. Drawing on logographic traditions of writing the world, I argue that, rather than describing what is now being produced by capitalism and other actors as a warehoused world full of lost souls, it is possible to think of different means of describing how the future is being scripted

Translating Literary Ideology from Ancient Chinese into Modern French: François Cheng’s Francophone Poetry in \u3cem\u3eDouble chant\u3c/em\u3e (2000)

François Cheng (1929- ), elected to the Académie Française in 2002, structurally introduced the lexicological, syntactic, and semiotic form of Tang poetry to the French academia via his academic works. In the late 1980s, François Cheng shifted his focus from academic writing to creative writing, both in French, winning the 1998 Prix Femina for his novel Le Dit de Tianyi (1998) and Prix Roger Caillois for his collection of poems Double chant (2000). Focusing on his less-discussed poetry, which reveals higher congruity of his understanding of Chinese literary classics with creative representation, this paper argues that, as an analyst of Tang poetry, Cheng also acts as a contemporary translator of the classical Chinese aesthetic ideology into French modern verses. His subjective creation of poetry is both transcultural and trans-temporal, ambiguously corresponding to his lingual, racial, cultural, and national belonging, and appropriating a new valid form of French literary style. This ambiguity both transcends national identification and universalizes the international flow of knowledge. Beyond Feng Lan\u27s (2017) recognition of François Cheng as a special representative of Chinese diasporic intellectuals who mediate between institutionalized French discourses and Chinese classical philosophy, a close reading of Cheng’s poems in the paper will support an investigation of his successive and transformative production of text

A Journey Across rivers and lakes : a look at the Jianghu in Chinese Culture and Literature

This paper sets out to explore the possibility as well as the impossibility of representing a seemingly untranslatable term: jianghu, which literally means "rivers and lakes" in the Chinese language. The paper discusses how the term evolves almost like an organic entity of its own, stretching from Chinese literature, cinema to the everyday use of the term as slangs and idioms. By looking at how the term is translated from one language to another, from an ancient context to a (post)modern context, and further away from one generation to another, this paper attempts to study the process of adaptation and translation beyond a linguistic scope, but towards a broader field of literary, cultural and film studies. The paper also examines how the process of translating, adapting and imagining jianghu can be deemed a manifestation of the Derridian concept of "supplementarity".Este trabajo pretende explorar la posibilidad y, al mismo tiempo, la imposibilidad, de representar un término aparentemente intraducible: jianghu, que significa, literalmente, «ríos y lagos» en chino. El trabajo comenta cómo el término evoluciona casi como una entidad orgánica en sí misma, que va desde la literatura china y el cine al uso cotidiano del término en jergas y refranes. Al analizar cómo se traduce el término de un idioma a otro, de un contexto antiguo a un contexto (pos)moderno, y de una generación a otra, este trabajo pretende estudiar el proceso de adaptación y traducción más allá de un ámbito lingüístico para incluir el ámbito más amplio de los estudios literarios, culturales y cinematográficos. El papel analiza además cómo el proceso de adaptación, traducción e imaginación de jianghu puede considerarse manifestación del concepto derridiano de «suplementariedad».Aquest article vol explorar la possibilitat, així com la impossibilitat de representació de jianghu (??), terme xinès aparentment intraduïble que significa, literalment, "rius i llacs". L'article analitza la seva evolució cap a una entitat quasi orgànica en ella mateixa, que es projecta des del camp de la literatura i el cinema xinesos cap a un ús quotidià del terme, dins de l'argot i les expressions idiomàtiques. Observant la traducció del terme d'una llengua a una altra, d'un context antic a un context postmodern i d'una generació a una altra, aquest article vol examinar el procés d'adaptació i traducció més enllà del camp de la lingüística, situant-se dins de l'àmbit dels estudis literaris, cinematogràfics i culturals. Finalment, l'article proposa, a partir del procés de traducció, adaptació i conceptualització de jianghu, la possibilitat de considerar-lo una manifestació del concepte derridià de "suplementarietat".Artikulu honek itzulezina omen den termino bat adierazteko posibilatea edo ezintasuna ikertzea du helburu, jianghu terminoa alegia, txineraz hitzez hitz "ibaiak eta lakuak" esan nahi duena. Artikuluan zehar terminoa bere baitango entitate organiko bat bailitzan nola eboluzionatu duen aurkezten da. Izan ere, txinatar literatura eta zinematik eguneroko hizkuntzako argot eta esamoldeetara hedatu da. Terminoa hizkuntza batetik bestera, antzinako testuingurutik testuinguru (post)modernora eta, are gehiago, belaunaldi batetik bestera itzultzeko moduari erreparatuta, artikuluak moldaketa eta itzulpen prozesua ikertzen du eremu linguistikoaz haratago, literatura, kultura eta zine ikasketen arloei begira. Horrez gain, jianghu terminoaren itzulpen, moldatze eta iruditze prozesua Derridak aurkeztutako "osagarritasuna" kontzeptuaren adierazpentzat har daitekeela azaltzen da

Self, the Ultimate and “others” in pre-Qin conceptions of sagehood

This study is an analysis of sagehood in pre-Qin Confucianism from the perspective of the relations between the self, the Ultimate and “others”. By examining the etymological, textual and philosophical evolutions on the concept of sheng (聖) in pre-Qin Chinese tradition, I argue that the pre-Qin Confucians developed a dual system of the Ultimate and hence a dual process of sagehood cultivation. The pre-Qin Confucians since Confucius inherited the ancient idea of the transcendent Ultimate in the names of Di (帝) and Tian (天) with the transcendent Ultimate, the ancient sage-kings, the people and the Rituals as the authorities. Meanwhile, they developed ideas regarding the immanent Ultimate that linked it to Nature (Xing 性), as well as specific corresponding ideas about the self, including Nature, mind/heart (xin 心) and body (shen 身) rooted in the early Zhou dynasty. The ideas about Nature, mind/hear and body broke or redefined the self-other boundaries between the self, the Ultimate and “others”. This new perspective made it possible and feasible for the self to know and become one with “others” intellectually, emotionally and empathetically in accordance with the Way of the Ultimate. Thus, the pre-Qin cultivation of sagehood became a two-fold process. On the one hand, the self willingly chooses to be subjected to, and even internalize, the authoritative “others”, such as the transcendent Ultimate, the sages and the Rituals. On the other hand, the self willingly chooses to be subordinate to the immanent Ultimate via his/her own Nature, mind/heart and body, and to grow from within and enlarge itself from the basic unit shen until becoming one with the Ultimate vertically and all others horizontally in accordance with the Way of the Ultimate. This two-sided process is conducted simultaneously, interactively and ceaselessly as different aspects of the same process. In this process “shen" is located at the center, being self-consciously transformed by the Ultimate, while also transforming “others” from near to far

A Journey Across Rivers and Lakes: a Look at the Untranslatable 'Jianghu' in Chinese Culture and Literature

This paper sets out to explore the possibility as well as the impossibility of representing a seemingly untranslatable term: jianghu (江湖), which literally means “rivers and lakes” in the Chinese language. The paper discusses how the term evolves almost like an organic entity of its own, stretching from Chinese literature, cinema to the everyday use of the term as slangs and idioms. By looking at how the term is translated from one language to another, from an ancient context to a (post)modern context, and further away from one generation to another, this paper attempts to study the process of adaptation and translation beyond a linguistic scope, but towards a broader field of literary, cultural and film studies. The paper also examines how the process of translating, adapting and imagining jianghu can be deemed a manifestation of the Derridian concept of “supplementarity”