Jonathan Spence: Writes history of a historian
The great China historian Jonathan Spence has for years guided us on journeys into the worldviews and dreams of emperors and rebels, traitors and traders, mandarins and missionaries. Now, in Return to Dragon Mountain, Spence takes us inside the mind of a fellow historian, albeit one who lived more than three centuries ago.
The Ming dynasty is known for great achievements in scholarship, arts and culture. Historian Zhang Dai's long life, which began in 1597 and ended around 1680, spanned the dynasty's final, turbulent decades and its overthrow by the invading Manchus. His writings were an attempt to record a lost way of life. They include a Ming dynastic history, profiles of public figures and dreamlike sketches of scenes from his youth. Spence draws on these documents, additional research by other scholars and his deep knowledge of Ming culture to portray the inner universe of a remarkably versatile and sympathetic figure.
Zhang Dai lived most of his life in Shaoxing (in today's Zhejiang Province), a prosperous commercial city near Hangzhou and the southern end of the Grand Canal. His family belonged to the local elite, whose time was often consumed by efforts to pass the examinations required for entry into the bureaucratic ranks -- not Zhang, though, who pursued the day's luxuries without compunction. His memories of youth included visits to local shrines with his mother and a trip to sacred Mt. Tai, where he was pestered by knickknack sellers. Zhang recalled these years as filled with theatrical performances, antique collecting and enjoyment of his vast library and villa on Hangzhou's West Lake. If there is a dominant image from his childhood, it is the elaborate lantern festivals that covered the hillsides, where Zhang had the impression that one could "enter the center of the lantern . . . into the fire, metamorphosed, not knowing if these were fireworks being set off in the prince's palace, or if this were a prince's palace composed of fireworks."...
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The Ming dynasty is known for great achievements in scholarship, arts and culture. Historian Zhang Dai's long life, which began in 1597 and ended around 1680, spanned the dynasty's final, turbulent decades and its overthrow by the invading Manchus. His writings were an attempt to record a lost way of life. They include a Ming dynastic history, profiles of public figures and dreamlike sketches of scenes from his youth. Spence draws on these documents, additional research by other scholars and his deep knowledge of Ming culture to portray the inner universe of a remarkably versatile and sympathetic figure.
Zhang Dai lived most of his life in Shaoxing (in today's Zhejiang Province), a prosperous commercial city near Hangzhou and the southern end of the Grand Canal. His family belonged to the local elite, whose time was often consumed by efforts to pass the examinations required for entry into the bureaucratic ranks -- not Zhang, though, who pursued the day's luxuries without compunction. His memories of youth included visits to local shrines with his mother and a trip to sacred Mt. Tai, where he was pestered by knickknack sellers. Zhang recalled these years as filled with theatrical performances, antique collecting and enjoyment of his vast library and villa on Hangzhou's West Lake. If there is a dominant image from his childhood, it is the elaborate lantern festivals that covered the hillsides, where Zhang had the impression that one could "enter the center of the lantern . . . into the fire, metamorphosed, not knowing if these were fireworks being set off in the prince's palace, or if this were a prince's palace composed of fireworks."...