Communication, Civilization and China: Discovering the Tang Dynasty (618–907) 9811578079, 9789811578076

Table of contents :
: Contents
: List of Tables
1 Introduction
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2 Capital Liaison Office and Ancient Postal System
Part I
Origins of Chin-Tsou-Yüen (Capital Liaison Office)
Chang’an and Many Capital Liaison Offices
A Sketch About Officials from the Capital Liaison Offices
Part II
I-Ch’uan System in History
I-ch’uan System of the Sui and the Tang Dynasties
Willow Twigs by the Guest Hostel Are Refreshing and Green
A Station After Another, Post Riders Come and Go Like the Gathering of Stars
3 Government Gazette and Chin-tsou-yüen Report
Kaiyuan Miscellaneous Reports (Kaiyuan Zabao)
Han Hong and “Ti-Pao”
Letter-Report of the Capital Liaison Office
Letter-Report of the Capital Liaison Office, Upper Part
Letter Presented of the Capital Liaison Office
4 Hsi-Shu and Lu-Pu
Hsin-wen (News), Ch’uan-po (Dissemination), and Hsin-wen-ch’uan-po (News Dissemination)
“Lu-Pu” and Its Magical Functions
Open Dispatch (Lu-pu) on Pacifying Khitan and Other Bandits in Jizhou Written on Behalf of the Commandery Prince of Henei Wu Yizong31
By Zhang Yue
“Hsi-wen” Can Withstand Thousands of Enemies
5 Beacon Fire, Placard, and Imperial Diaries
During the Day, We Climb Atop the Mountains to Watch Beacon Fires
Captain’s Feathered Dispatch Flying Over Oceans
“Pang-wen” and Government Placard
“Tsuo-shi” Records Remarks and “Yu-shi” Records Deeds
6 Thoughts on News Communication
Splendor and Openness of the Tang Dynasty
The Stylistic Reform of Writing in the Early Sui Dynasty
Li Shimin and a Compendium on Statecraft from the Zhenguan Reign
The Theory of Talent, Learning, and Vision by Liu Zhiji
All About Historiography (Shitong) and “Zhibi”
7 Scholars and Their Communication
The Evolution of Shih (Scholar)
The Conscience of Society
Shih of the Tang Dynasty
The Communication of Scholars in the Tang Dynasty
The Creation of Poetry Based on Reality
8 Ancient Letters and Brush-Note Novels
Genuine Letters and Books Defying Distance
History System Falls and Novels Flourish
Brush-Note Essays from the Tang Period
9 Wall Inscription Style Poems
The Origin of “Wall Inscription” Style Poems
The Tang Scholars Write “Wall Inscriptions” Style Poems
Places for Inscribing Poems
The Peak Reflects on the River Under the Bright Moon
Dismounting at Each Pavilion of Courier Station, I Search Your Poem Around Wall and Post
But Where Is the Girl in Demure Air? Only to Find the Flower Beaming in the Spring Breeze There
“Wall Inscription” Style Poems and Their Communication
The Block Printing of Books Does Not Reach the Height in the Tang
10 The Communication of Ordinary People
Earthbound China
Interpersonal Network and Oral Narration
A Land of Water and Soil Nourishes an Area of People
Folk Songs and Proverbs
Just as There Is a Paradise in Heaven, There Is a Yuanzhuang Garden on Earth
Luo Binwang Cooks Up Rumors
Su-chiang and Pien-wen
Zhang Yichao’s “Pien-wen”
11 Conclusion
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Appendix Reflections of the Research on the Chinese History of News1
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
中国文化特色词和短语: Chinese Culture-bound Phrases and other Terms
Afterword
Supplements to Revised Edition
References