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Seeking Political Patronage: The Art of Tang Self-recommendation Letters
2019-20 School of Chinese Seminar
干諸侯、抵卿相：論唐代干謁信的藝術
Seeking Political Patronage: The Art of Tang Self-recommendation Letters
Dr Xiaojing Miao
繆曉靜博士
University of Colorado
科羅拉多大學
時間Time: 11:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Wednesday 9 October 2019
地點Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong
演講語言Language: 普通話Putonghua
Abstract
初盛唐時期 (618-766) 干謁信成為文人尋求提攜的重要媒介。為贏得當權者的舉薦，唐代文人在干謁信中採取了多種修辭策略。這篇論文將重點討論其中最引人注目的一些修辭策略，以及干謁信這一文體臻於成熟的歷史背景。儘管干謁信本質上屬於實用類文章，但初盛唐文人有時故意打破它的文體習慣，甚至寫出與干謁目的背道相馳的干謁信。對干謁信的討論有助於我們進一步思考傳統的“言志”觀念，以及重新書寫唐代文學史的可能。
During the first half (618-766) of the Tang dynasty, the letter of self-recommendation became a prominent genre for literati seeking official positions. To persuade a potential patron to offer help, authors adopted various rhetorical strategies in such letters. Some of the more striking approaches developed by them will be discussed in this talk, as will the historical context behind the maturation of the genre. Although letters seeking political patronage were a fundamentally practical matter, their features could also be played with and manipulated for literary effect, with some authors fashioning compositions that may even seem audaciously counter-productive. The discussion of Tang self-recommendation letters allows us to further consider the traditional concept of “expressing one’s mind” and the possibility of rewrite the history of Tang literature.
Bionote
繆曉靜博士，科羅拉多大學亞洲語言與文化系訪問助理教授。她的研究範圍包括中國中古文學與文化，修辭學，歷史編纂學和幽默研究。
Dr Xiaojing Miao is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Chinese at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her primary research focus is medieval Chinese literature and culture (roughly 100 to 900 CE), with a secondary focus on rhetoric, historiography, and humor studies.
All are welcome
