[lit-ideas] Re: On Nip Thievery [Lawrence's investigations]
- From: "John McCreery" <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 6 Jun 2008 22:38:17 +0900
Good catch. Interestingly though the Chinese character for wen specifically
refers to text. The music, dance, etc., included in the broader sense to
which you refer are all arts associated with the literate elite.
John
On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 9:59 PM, John Wager <john.wager1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> John McCreery wrote:
>
> . . . .The actual content of wen (=Japanese bun) involved first the
> Classics and the Histories (an intimate knowledge of which was essential to
> passing the Imperial civil service exams). Modern compendia of classical
> Chinese literature add lyric poetry (especially the great Tang Dynasty
> poets) and Ming and Qing novels, e.g., The Dream of the Red Chamber, though
> whether the latter should be regarded as wen or a jumped-up form of
> popular culture/superstition was still being debated into the 20th century.
>
> Wouldn't "wen" also include somewhat "non-textual" arts, like painting and
> dance and playing musical instruments?
>
> --
> -------------------------------------------------
> "Never attribute to malice that which can be
> explained by incompetence and ignorance."
> -------------------------------------------------
> John Wager john.wager1@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Lisle, IL, USA
>
>
>
--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
http://www.wordworks.jp/
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