Description
Yuan Mei 袁枚 (1716-97) is often thought of as a rebellious figure within the eighteenth-century intellectual and literary landscape. His perceived rejection of nearly all aspects of Confucian values was so extreme that he was even dubbed a "sinner against the teachings of Confucius." This thesis examines six stories within Yuan Mei's Zi buyu 子不語 (What Confucius Did Not Talk About) and, through close reading, shows how Yuan Mei utilizes each foreign group's physical traits and their ability to verbally and/or ethically communicate with the Chinese protagonist, in order to reflect their adherence to Confucian values and acceptance of Chinese imperial authority to arrange them along a spectrum of humanness that reflects the Chinese-foreign distinction. Furthermore, by examining each story in their historical and literary contexts, it is discovered that nearly every foreign group portrayed in Zi buyu is based on historical groups that actually existed on the periphery of the Qing empire, and that the different degrees of foreignness of each subject reflect each historical foreign group's acquiescence to or rebellion against the imperial authority of the Qing empire. Contrary to commonly held opinions, Yuan Mei's negotiation of foreignness demonstrates his own deep subscription to Confucian ethics and adherence to imperial order.
Details
Title
- What does it take to be human?: foreignness in Yuan Mei's Zi buyu
Contributors
- Campos, Miles (Author)
- Ling, Xiaoqiao (Thesis advisor)
- Oh, Young Kyun (Committee member)
- West, Stephen H. (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2012
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
- thesisPartial requirement for: M.A., Arizona State University, 2012
- bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (p. 81-85)
- languageEnglish and Chinese
- Field of study: East Asian languages and civilizations
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Miles Campos