Textual Practices of Literary Training in Medieval China

Christopher M. B. Nugent, Ph.D. (2004), Harvard University, is the John W. Chandler Professor of Chinese at Williams College. He has written on the production and circulation of poetry, textual memory, education, and manuscript culture in medieval China.

“An insightful and highly original study, which makes a major contribution to our knowledge of Dunhuang and medieval Chinese literary culture in general. Based on a close analysis of a group of Dunhuang manuscripts, it addresses the difficult question of how literary training happened in daily practice. A refreshing read, both enjoyable and informative.” Imre GalambosQiushi Professor of Chinese at the School of Literature, Zhejiang University, and Professor Emeritus of Chinese at the University of Cambridge“Textual Practices of Literary Training in Medieval China is a ground-breaking study of the history of manuscript culture, elite education, and the production of knowledge in medieval China. Through close analysis of the literary and codicological features of Dunhuang primers that have been little examined to date, Nugent illuminates the many ways that medieval people learned to read, write, and think with the cultural tradition. It sets a new high-water mark for scholarship on Dunhuang manuscripts and literary knowledge in premodern China.” Anna M. ShieldsGordon Wu '58 Professor of Chinese Studies, Princeton University

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of Tables and FiguresManuscripts CitedIntroduction1 The Dunhuang Context2 Literary Training and the Literate Elite3 Managing Literary Information4 Overview of Shapters5 Some Conventions1 Kaimeng yaoxun: A Foundation for Literary Training1 Introduction2 Documents3 Content: What Kaimeng yaoxun Teaches4 Structure: What Makes Kaimeng yaoxun “Easy to Understand and Hard to Forget”?5 Using Kaimeng yaoxun: Evidence from Textual Variation6 Case Study: P.25787 Managing Information: Kaimeng yaoxun as Literary Training2 Qianzi wen as Mnemonic Scaffold1 Introduction to Qianzi wen2 Qianzi wen3 Medieval Annotations to Qianzi wen4 Liuzi qianwen3 Yudui: Parallel Sayings as Tool and Method1 Introduction2 Documents and Formats3 Structure and Content4 Variation, Production, and Use5 Yudui as Information Management4 Zachao: A Complex Miscellany1 Introduction2 The Documents3 Organizational Structure4 Categories of Content5 Managing Information6 Textual Variation7 Layout, Format, and Use8 Parallels5 Tuyuan cefu: A Primer for Exams and Officialdom1 Introduction2 The Bibliographic Record3 Dunhuang Documents4 Du Sixian’s Preface5 Content and Structure: “Deliberating the Feng and Shan Sacrifices”6 Using Tuyuan cefu7 Tuyuan cefu In (and Out) of ContextConclusion1 ImplicationsBibliographyIndex