Reader competence and uses of written texts in early China as reflected in punctuation practices

Abstract

Despite the persistent cliché that that pre-modern Chinese texts have no punctuation, recently discovered manuscripts from early China show rich and varied punctuation practices. This presentation will discuss approaches to studying punctuation and other means of defining textual identity. It will then give an overview of punctuation and related paratextual devices and consider what they reveal about intended and actual use of manuscripts as well as the competence required of users.  

About the speaker

Matthias Richter graduated with a diploma in German and English literature from Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena (East Germany) in 1985 and received a PhD in Sinology from the University of Hamburg in 2000. After one year as a Creel Research Fellow at the University of Chicago, he joined the University of Colorado in 2007. His research on Warring States and Early Imperial politico-philosophical literature focuses on questions of rhetoric and redactional strategies, textual criticism, the formational history of texts, and the methodology of studying early Chinese manuscripts.

Registration

This event is open to the public and free to attend, however registration is required. Click here to register.

Please note that this seminar is taking place on campus and will not be recorded or live-streamed.

Chair: Dr. Ernest Caldwell, SOAS Director of Learning and Teaching, Reader in Chinese Studies, SOAS University of London

Co-sponsored by the AHRC research grant "Han Chinese Phonology: When Chinese became Chinese"

Organiser: SOAS China Institute

Contact email: sci@soas.ac.uk