Ming Qing Studies 2020

In Confucian Chastity over Authenticity of Feeling: Identity and Emotions in a Rewriting of “Du Shiniang Sinks Her Jewel Box in Anger” in Late Chosŏn Korea, Hyuk-chan KWON, by comparing Feng Menglong’s “Du Shiniang Sinks her Jewel Box in Anger” to its late Chosŏn re-adaptation, delves into how the concept of chastity may be perceived differently in different societies. Isaac YUE’s Martyrdom, Sexual Autonomy, and “Restrictive Emotionality”: The Making of a Ming Heroine faces the question of the relationship between gender and manifestation of emotions, by examining the above Feng Menglong’s short story and other tales on female knight-errants. CHEN Jiani’s Empowering the Marginalised: Images of Knight-errant Courtesans in the Ming Dynasty reflects on the Ming revival of the xia tradition: by incorporating knight-errantry into courtesan culture authors displayed a new-self to create a new ideal which not only challenged the stereotypical images of the marginalized groups but also theoretically allowed the negotiation and crossing of borders in both gender and power structures. Local Concern and Classical Learning: Understanding Li Guangpo’s 李光坡 (1651-1723) Ritual Studies by YAP Sze Sze concerns the development of Classical studies in the Qing Dynasty from the perspective of social history: Li Guangpo’s attention in ceremonial rituals is explained as part of the family’s efforts of reconstruction and reorganization of Anxi Hutou Li Clan (安溪湖頭李氏) and elevating the clan’s social status in the gentry circle. The Qing Corpus of Manichaean Texts from Fujian by Gábor KÓSA (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest), after an overview of the content and nature of the Manichean corpus in China, introduces the recently discovered collection from Pingnan 屏南 county, its content and nature, and offers a survey of the south-eastern phase of Chinese Manichaeism, after the Huichang 會昌 persecution (843-845). Import and Export of Ideas, Beliefs and Tastes in World History: The Case of Confucius in 18th Century Italy by Paolo SANTANGELO reconsiders the intellectual exchanges between Italy and China in the 18th century within the global fluxes of ideas, goods and technical expertise, inside the global and reciprocal flux of learning and goods. Chinese Diplomatic Gifts in Russia in 1655-1730: an Aspect of Intercultural Exchange, by Rostislav BEREZKIN and Maria L. MENSHIKOVA, reconstructs the general picture of the gift exchange between Russia and the Qing Empire in the earliest period of their direct relations (1655-1735), with an emphasis on gifts from the Chinese side, and discusses their cultural meaning in Russia. New light on a section of the bureaucratic structure of Ming Dynasty is shed in Mongol Military Intrusions and the Frontier Officials Selection in Late Ming China, by GENG Yong (Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences), that offers a detailed survey on the evolution of the various special systems to select high-quality officials serving in the northern frontiers, and partially alleviating local political and social crises.