Birth in Ancient China: A Study of Metaphor and Cultural Identity in Pre-Imperial China - Couverture rigide

Cook, Constance A.; Luo, Xinhui

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1438467117 ISBN 13 : 9781438467115

Editeur : State University of New York Press, 2017

Synopsis

Using newly discovered and excavated texts, Constance A. Cook and Xinhui Luo systematically explore material culture, inscriptions, transmitted texts, and genealogies from BCE China to reconstruct the role of women in social reproduction in the ancient Chinese world. Applying paleographical, linguistic, and historical analyses, Cook and Luo discuss fertility rituals, birthing experiences, divine conceptions, divine births, and the overall influence of gendered supernatural agencies on the experience and outcome of birth. They unpack a cultural paradigm in which birth is not only a philosophical symbol of eternal return and renewal but also an abiding religious and social focus for lineage continuity. They also suggest that some of the mythical founder heroes traditionally assumed to be male may in fact have had female identities. Students of ancient history, particularly Chinese history, will find this book an essential complement to traditional historical narratives, while the exploration of ancient religious texts, many unknown in the West, provides a unique perspective into the study of the formation of mythology and the role of birthing in early religion.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Constance A. Cook is Professor of Chinese at Lehigh University and the author of Death in Ancient China: The Tale of One Man's Journey. Xinhui Luo is Professor of Chinese Ancient History at Beijing Normal University, China.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: State University of New York Press
• Date d'édition: 2017
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1438467117
• ISBN 13: 9781438467115
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 158
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible