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Please note: This is a new version of a previously announced book.
Letter writing is a pivotal yet neglected medium of historical Chinese
communication. The epistolary format is key to sinological research. As
historical letters have a specific vocabulary and rhetorical structure it
is difficult to read them without the supporting apparatus of specialised
study.
The aim of this compendium is to fill the gap in Chinese studies by
providing a bilingual Chinese-English edition of a corpus of Chinese
letters, prepared for advanced students of Classical Chinese as well as
academics with an interest in historical Chinese epistolary art. The book
has a broad and general introduction, systematically constructed vocabulary
sections as well as detailed grammatical and philological explanations.
It focuses on Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) letter writing, a high point of
pre-1911 epistolary activity in Chinese, and will appeal to Chinese
scholars and Sinologists at a broad range of academic levels.
The author was awarded with the Academy Award for Young Outstanding
Scholars by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for this book.
"The author is an expert in the field and this is a particularly valuable
contribution to a previously neglected, but important topic. There is a
wealth of literary and historical detail here."
- Professor Andy Kirkpatrick, Department of English, Hong Kong Institute of
Education, Hong Kong
"Daniel Z. Kádár’s work is a landmark in Chinese epistolary scholarship:
not only is it the first major collection of Chinese historical letters
presented in the English language, but it is also a meticulously compiled
textbook for anyone who has a vested interest in ancient Chinese
civilization. The author’s strong background in discourse pragmatics is
thoroughly reflected in the design of the book, which will serve the reader
well. This book is a welcome addition to classical Chinese materials for
readers ranging from undergrads to accomplished scholars." - Hongyin Tao,
Professor of Chinese Language and Linguistics & Applied Linguistics,
University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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