EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 11 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 121 Janousch Andreas (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) The History of the Southern Qi (Nan Qi shu) and the Legitimation Crisis at the Beginning of the Liang Dynasty (AD 502–557) Key words: historiography, legitimation, Nan Qi shu, Xiao Ziliang, Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty Since BanGu’s History of the Han, the inherent structure of official history in China has been the legitimation of the reigning imperial family. Beyond this structural characteristic of dynastic history, the writing of history offered the opportunity for victorious dynasties to encode specific legitimating discourses in the text. In that sense, the late 5th to early 6th centuries were a turning point. During the Period of Disunion history writing had not yet been institutionalized to the degree it was to become under the Tang, and the completion of the history of a recently-defeated dynasty by its successor occurred only twice during the Southern Dynasties. The paper proposes to analyse the legitimating discourses and strategies of one of these: the History of the Southern Qi. One of the shorter, lesser-studied official histories, the Nan Qi shu was completed by Xiao Zixian (489–537), a grandson of the Southern Qi founder and submitted to the Liang throne during the first decade of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (r. 502–549), Xiao Yan (464–549). The history can be fruitfully seen in the context of the crisis of legitimacy which overshadowed the first decade of the Liang. The fact that Xiao Yan himself belonged to the imperial clan of the Southern Qi made him a usurper rather than the legitimate founder of a new dynasty. How, then, is this problem reflected in the Nan Qi shu and how did it help to counter the threat of going down in history as a usurper? This paper will analyse the different strategies of legitimation through which Xiao Zixian contributed to the debates at the beginning of the Liang, focussing on representations and narratives that the Nan Qi shu offered about XiaoYan himself and his closest relatives. I will both contextualize these strategies in the historical circumstances of the early 6th century as well as assess their contribution to the development of the official history genre during the Early Medieval period in general. Kakinuma Yohei (Teikyo University) The Social Meanings of Money in Early China Key words: Han, Jin, gift, multiple monies, complimentarity among monies There were three main forms of money during Warring States (453–221 B.C.E.), Qin (221–207 B.C.E.), and Western Han (202 B.C.E. — 9 C.E.) periods in ancient China: bronze coins, gold, and cloth currencies (hemp and silk). Their common function was serving as monetary instruments and providing economic liquidity, but on the other hand, each of them had some distinct functions of its own. For instance, during the Western Han period, bronze coin was used to pay prizes for meritorious service in war, provide pre- sents for immigrants and participants in ritual occasions such as funerals. Gold, too, could function to issue prizes for meritorious military service, and to pay retirement allowances for public officers. It also served as a means of exchange for foreigners arriving to trade with the Han Empire, and for presents dispatched to foreign rulers. Silk functioned as means of exchange for foreigners, presents for foreign rulers, presents from the government to people under the social welfare system, and presents for public officers. In short, monetary system in the Warring-States, Qin, and Western Han periods worked on the basis of not only economic principles but also institutions and customs. Moreover, the functional array of various monetary instruments was subject to change over time, as will be demonstrated by my analysis with regard to the early imperial and early medieval periods, from the Qin to the Jin Dynasty (265–420 C.E.). I will discuss how different monetary instruments were earmarked for different social contexts, and examine the ways in which economic and social considerations were combined in the use of money. Kobzeva Maria (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Historiography of the Early Tang and Biographical Accounts in the Jin shu: Shan Tao andWang Rong Key words: historiography, Jin shu, Shan Tao, Wang Rong, biography