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Powerful Arguments
Standards of Validity in Late Imperial China
Series: - Sinica Leidensia, Volume: 146
The essays in Powerful Arguments reconstruct the standards of validity underlying argumentative practices in a wide array of late imperial Chinese discourses, from the Song through the Qing dynasties. The fourteen case studies analyze concrete arguments defended or contested in areas ranging from historiography, philosophy, law, and religion to natural studies, literature, and the civil examination system. By examining uses of evidence, habits of inference, and the criteria by which some arguments were judged to be more persuasive than others, the contributions recreate distinct cultures of reasoning. Together, they lay the foundations for a history of argumentative practice in one of the richest scholarly traditions outside of Europe and add a chapter to the as yet elusive global history of rationality.
Martin Hofmann, Ph.D. (2007) is Assistant Professor for East Asian Intellectual History at Heidelberg Universityâs Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies. He has mainly published on historical cartography, practices of argumentation, and the text-image relation in late imperial China.
Joachim Kurtz, Ph.D. (2003), is Professor of Intellectual History at Heidelberg University. He is the author of The Discovery of Chinese Logic (Brill, 2011), and has published widely on circulations of knowledge between China and Europe.
Ari Daniel Levine, Ph.D (2002) is Associate Professor of History at the University of Georgia. The author of Divided by a Common Language (University of Hawai'i Press, 2008), he is currently the Editor of the Journal of Song-Yuan Studies.
Joachim Kurtz, Ph.D. (2003), is Professor of Intellectual History at Heidelberg University. He is the author of The Discovery of Chinese Logic (Brill, 2011), and has published widely on circulations of knowledge between China and Europe.
Ari Daniel Levine, Ph.D (2002) is Associate Professor of History at the University of Georgia. The author of Divided by a Common Language (University of Hawai'i Press, 2008), he is currently the Editor of the Journal of Song-Yuan Studies.
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors
Introduction: Toward a History of Argumentative Practice in Late Imperial China
âMartin Hofmann, Joachim Kurtz, and Ari Daniel Levine
â1âHistorical and Political Arguments: Debates on the Veritable Records in the Ming Dynasty (1368â1644)
ââPeter Ditmanson
â2âA Performance of Transparency: Discourses of Veracity and Practices of Verification in Li Taoâs Long Draft
ââAri Daniel Levine
â3âLearning with Metal and Stone: On the Discursive Formation of Song Epigraphy
ââJeffrey Moser
â4âThe Persuasive Power of Tu: A Case Study on Commentaries to the Book of Documents
ââMartin Hofmann
â5âInductive Arguments in the Midst of Smoke: âProvingâ Rhetorically and Visually That Algorithms Work
ââAndrea Bréard
â6âKeeping Your Ear to the Cosmos: Coherence as the Standard of Good Music in the Northern Song
ââYa Zuo
â7âThe Textual Nature of Nature: Astronomical Debates in Eighteenth-Century China
ââOri Sela
â8âIdentity Verification as a Standard of Validity in Late Imperial Civil Service Examinations
ââJohn Williams
â9âStandards of Validity and Essay Grading in Early Qing Civil Service Examinations
ââLi Yuèè
â10âSome Problems with Corpses: Standards of Validity in Qing Homicide Cases
ââMatthew H. Sommer
â11âValue and Validity: Seeing through Silver in Late Imperial China
ââBruce Rusk
â12âPhilological Arguments as Religious Suasion: Liu Ning and His Study of Chinese Characters
ââPingyi Chu
â13âA Moral Verdict of Reasonable Doubts: Ouyi Zhixuâs Argumentative Strategies in the Collection of Refutations against Vicious Doctrines
ââManuel Sassmann
â14âReasoning in Style: The Formation of âLogical Writingâ in Late Qing China
ââJoachim Kurtz
Index
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors
Introduction: Toward a History of Argumentative Practice in Late Imperial China
âMartin Hofmann, Joachim Kurtz, and Ari Daniel Levine
Part 1: Comparison, Collation, Validation
â1âHistorical and Political Arguments: Debates on the Veritable Records in the Ming Dynasty (1368â1644)
ââPeter Ditmanson
â2âA Performance of Transparency: Discourses of Veracity and Practices of Verification in Li Taoâs Long Draft
ââAri Daniel Levine
â3âLearning with Metal and Stone: On the Discursive Formation of Song Epigraphy
ââJeffrey Moser
Part 2: Visualization, Demonstration, Calculation
â4âThe Persuasive Power of Tu: A Case Study on Commentaries to the Book of Documents
ââMartin Hofmann
â5âInductive Arguments in the Midst of Smoke: âProvingâ Rhetorically and Visually That Algorithms Work
ââAndrea Bréard
â6âKeeping Your Ear to the Cosmos: Coherence as the Standard of Good Music in the Northern Song
ââYa Zuo
â7âThe Textual Nature of Nature: Astronomical Debates in Eighteenth-Century China
ââOri Sela
Part 3: Verification, Evaluation, Authentication
â8âIdentity Verification as a Standard of Validity in Late Imperial Civil Service Examinations
ââJohn Williams
â9âStandards of Validity and Essay Grading in Early Qing Civil Service Examinations
ââLi Yuèè
â10âSome Problems with Corpses: Standards of Validity in Qing Homicide Cases
ââMatthew H. Sommer
â11âValue and Validity: Seeing through Silver in Late Imperial China
ââBruce Rusk
Part 4: Corroboration, Refutation, Presentation
â12âPhilological Arguments as Religious Suasion: Liu Ning and His Study of Chinese Characters
ââPingyi Chu
â13âA Moral Verdict of Reasonable Doubts: Ouyi Zhixuâs Argumentative Strategies in the Collection of Refutations against Vicious Doctrines
ââManuel Sassmann
â14âReasoning in Style: The Formation of âLogical Writingâ in Late Qing China
ââJoachim Kurtz
Index
All interested in the intellectual history of late imperial China, and anyone concerned with the global histories of historiography, philosophy, science, religion, law, reasoning, and argumentation.