The hall of light : a study of early Chinese kingship

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

The hall of light : a study of early Chinese kingship

William Edward Soothill ; edited by Ladie [i.e. Lady] Hosie and G.F. Hudson

James Clark, 2002

  • : pbk

Available at  / 1 libraries

Search this Book/Journal

Note

Reprint. Originally published: London : Lutterworth Press , 1951

Bibliography: p. 279-280

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book is a close examination of Chinese traditions concerning the ancient Chinese institution known as the Ming T'ang, rendered in the title as the "Hall of Light", and the sacrificial rituals connected with it. Soothill does not offer a mere summary of the Chinese accounts of the Ming T'ang but an interpretation of those in the light of comparative anthropology and of the history of ancient astronomy. This is the culmination of the life-long study and research on China of a leading British sinologist, The Hall of Light illuminates traditional Chinese ideas about monarchy, religion, worship, ritual, sacrifices, customs, and all aspects of early Chinese culture, which have influenced the thought and behaviour of the Chinese for well over two millennia. This is a study that will be of value to sinologues, anthropologists, and students of comparative astronomy and religion, as well as anyone with an interest in Chinese tradition and thought.

Table of Contents

  • Editors' Preface
  • List of Illustrations
  • Foreword: G F Hudson MA
  • Introduction: by Professor W E Soothill MA FRGS ect
  • Virtue and Passivity
  • The Ancient Records
  • The Book if Rites
  • The Yueh Ling: Part I: The Month's Observances
  • The Yueh Ling: Part II: The Ritual of Spring
  • The Yueh Ling: Part III: Summer Mid-Season Autumn Winter
  • The Calendar
  • The Hall of Light: Its Origins
  • The Significance of its Names
  • Site and Structure
  • In the Chou and Later Dynasties
  • The Skyward Tower
  • The Jade-Ring Moat
  • The Early Sacrifices
  • Worship in the Chou Period
  • The Nature of the Sacrifices
  • Shang Ti Heaven and Earth
  • The Son of Heaven
  • The Dragon
  • Robes and Regalia
  • The Performance of the Ritual
  • The Principle of the Ritual
  • The Roman Regia and Other Parallels
  • Appendix
  • The Hsia Calendar
  • The Song of the Sky Pacer or the Sky Poem of Steps in Astronomy
  • The References to Ti and Shang Ti in the Five Canons and Four Books
  • Ancient Music and Instruments
  • Chinese Texts
  • The Hsia Calendar
  • The Song of the Sky Pacer
  • Author's Bibliography
  • Index.

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

Page Top