The Rhetoric of Hiddenness in Traditional Chinese Culture

<p><b>Considers the role of hiddenness in the history of cultural production in premodern China.</b></p><p>This volume brings together fourteen essays that explore the role of hiddenness-as both an object and a mode of representation-in the history of cultural production in China from the Warring States Period (403-221 BCE) to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1911) and beyond. The rhetorical use of various forms of hiddenness makes its appearance in literary political philosophical and religious writings as well as in the visual arts. Working in fields as disparate as traditional Chinese literature religion philosophy history medicine and art the contributors attempt to characterize one of the fundamental signifying practices in traditional Chinese cultural production. In the process they not only reveal otherwise obscure patterns connecting longstanding social political aesthetic and epistemological practices but also contribute to ongoing discussions-well beyond the field of China studies-regarding the representation and communicability of knowledge as well as the practices controlling its dissemination.</p>