Ritual Performance in Early Chinese Thought: A Dramaturgical Perspective

By Thomas Radice

Examining early Chinese ritual discourse during the Warring States and early Western Han Periods, this book reveals how performance became a fundamental feature of ritual and politics in early China. Through a dramaturgical lens, Thomas Radice explores the extent to which performer/spectator relationships influenced all aspects of early Chinese religious, ethical, and political discourse.

Arguing that the Confucians conceived ritual as primarily a dramaturgical matter, this book demonstrates not only that theatricality was necessary for expression and deception in a community of spectators, but also how a theatrical 'presence' ultimately became essential to all forms of public life in early China. Thomas Radice illuminates previously unexplored connections between early Chinese texts, aesthetics, and traditions.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1350358967
• ISBN13: 9781350358966
• Release Date: November 2024
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"