Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing
The Taiping Civil War (1851–1864) was one of the most destructive wars in Chinese history, with the death toll estimated between twenty and thirty million. What visions did survivors have for restoring their fractured society once the war ended? Katherine L. Alexander’s Teaching and Transformation i...
Sábháilte in:
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| Formáid: | Online |
| Teanga: | Béarla |
| Foilsithe / Cruthaithe: |
University of Michigan Press
2025
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| Ábhair: | |
| Rochtain ar líne: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/104325 |
| Clibeanna: |
Níl clibeanna ann, Bí ar an gcéad duine le clib a chur leis an taifead seo!
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| _version_ | 1869525825276084224 |
|---|---|
| author | Alexander, Katherine L |
| author_browse | Alexander, Katherine L |
| author_facet | Alexander, Katherine L |
| author_sort | Alexander, Katherine L |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | The Taiping Civil War (1851–1864) was one of the most destructive wars in Chinese history, with the death toll estimated between twenty and thirty million. What visions did survivors have for restoring their fractured society once the war ended? Katherine L. Alexander’s Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing approaches these questions through literature by examining the works of evangelical Confucian teacher Yu Zhi (1809-1874), who gave a voice to the zealous side of conservative Confucian reform efforts before, during, and after the Taiping War. His works offer radical visions of a world that could be restored through collective effort and goodness, while also revealing the shifting nature of power and the cracks in Qing society.
Yu’s works complicate the picture of socio-moral reform, particularly the Confucian mission of jiaohua (teaching and transformation). Though he viewed the disasters of the late Qing as the natural consequence of jiaohua’s failure to compete against socially disruptive media, such as vernacular fiction and theatrical productions, he also wanted reformers to engage closely with these genres. Yu became a vocal advocate of teaching with moral vernacular literature that he believed met commoners at their level. He emphasized the hope that by writing, printing, and performing such texts, every member of his audience could be transformed into teachers themselves, restoring society from the bottom up. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-163232 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | University of Michigan Press |
| publisherStr | University of Michigan Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1632322025-08-05T05:11:05Z Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing Alexander, Katherine L China, Chinese religions, late imperial China, early modern China, early modern Chinese popular literature, Qing history, Taiping Civil War, Taiping Rebellion, Confucianism, book history, publication history, baojuan, precious scrolls, shanshu, morality literature thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history The Taiping Civil War (1851–1864) was one of the most destructive wars in Chinese history, with the death toll estimated between twenty and thirty million. What visions did survivors have for restoring their fractured society once the war ended? Katherine L. Alexander’s Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing approaches these questions through literature by examining the works of evangelical Confucian teacher Yu Zhi (1809-1874), who gave a voice to the zealous side of conservative Confucian reform efforts before, during, and after the Taiping War. His works offer radical visions of a world that could be restored through collective effort and goodness, while also revealing the shifting nature of power and the cracks in Qing society. Yu’s works complicate the picture of socio-moral reform, particularly the Confucian mission of jiaohua (teaching and transformation). Though he viewed the disasters of the late Qing as the natural consequence of jiaohua’s failure to compete against socially disruptive media, such as vernacular fiction and theatrical productions, he also wanted reformers to engage closely with these genres. Yu became a vocal advocate of teaching with moral vernacular literature that he believed met commoners at their level. He emphasized the hope that by writing, printing, and performing such texts, every member of his audience could be transformed into teachers themselves, restoring society from the bottom up. 2025-07-29T22:29:58Z 2025-07-29T22:29:58Z 2025-07-21T11:59:53Z 2025 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/104325 9780472077588 9780472057580 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/163232 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/104325/1/9780472905140.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/104325/1/9780472905140.pdf University of Michigan Press 10.3998/mpub.14428723 10.3998/mpub.14428723 b7359529-e5f7-4510-a59f-d7dafa1d4d17 9780472077588 9780472057580 279 open access |
| spellingShingle | China, Chinese religions, late imperial China, early modern China, early modern Chinese popular literature, Qing history, Taiping Civil War, Taiping Rebellion, Confucianism, book history, publication history, baojuan, precious scrolls, shanshu, morality literature thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history Alexander, Katherine L Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing |
| title | Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing |
| title_full | Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing |
| title_fullStr | Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing |
| title_short | Teaching and Transformation in Popular Confucian Literature of the Late Qing |
| title_sort | teaching and transformation in popular confucian literature of the late qing |
| topic | China, Chinese religions, late imperial China, early modern China, early modern Chinese popular literature, Qing history, Taiping Civil War, Taiping Rebellion, Confucianism, book history, publication history, baojuan, precious scrolls, shanshu, morality literature thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history |
| topic_facet | China, Chinese religions, late imperial China, early modern China, early modern Chinese popular literature, Qing history, Taiping Civil War, Taiping Rebellion, Confucianism, book history, publication history, baojuan, precious scrolls, shanshu, morality literature thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHF Asian history |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/104325 |
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