Jan 27, 2021
Terms, Notions, and Imagery in Chinese Theories of Signification
- 12:00 to 13:30
- Reading Group
- Max Planck Research Group (Premodern Sciences)
- Shixiang Jin
This session will be led by Shixiang Jin and we will discuss the following sources:
- Paul U. Unschuld, "The su wen: Document of a New Style of Thought,” in Huang Di nei jing su wen. Nature, Knowledge, Imagery in an Ancient Chinese Medical Text, Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2003, pp. 319-325.
- Paul U. Unschuld, “The Yin-Yang Doctrine,” in Huang Di nei jing su wen. Nature, Knowledge, Imagery in an Ancient Chinese Medical Text, Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2003, pp. 83-99.
- Chapter V "Comprehensive Discourse on Phenomena Corresponding to yin and yang,” in An Annotated Translation of Huang Di’s Inner Classic – Basic Questions (Huang Di nei jing su wen), trans. by Paul U. Unschuld, Hermann Tessenow, and Zheng Jinsheng, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2011, pp. 95-126.
Optionally, the participants who might find it helpful to refresh their knowledge of the formation of Chinese characters are also welcome to read Henry Rosemont Jr., “1.1 Chinese Characters,” Translating and Interpreting Chinese Philosophy, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Contact and Registration
Please note that this event series will take place on Zoom and thus pre-registration is required. All reading materials will be circulated one week in advance. For more information and registering please contact Maria Avxentevskaya.
About This Series
The series of reading sessions "The Premodern History of Signification: Putting Experiences into Words, Images, and Signs" explores how the premodern experiences of the natural world were expressed, recorded, and communicated through verbal, visual, and semiotic means. By analyzing the premodern theorizing and practices concerning signification we aim to clarify how diverse views on it as an intellectual, cognitive, and performative process affected the production of knowledge in the premodern world. The group will meet online in November 2020 to February 2021 and discuss the primary sources suggested and introduced at each session by the group participants specializing in historical areas from classical to premodern traditions up to the eighteenth century on a global scale.