The essays in this thought-provoking volume investigate ideas of China and Chineseness by means of a broad range of texts, languages, and contexts that surround what the editors call the "various written Chinas" through history. Analyzing discourse of civilization, geography, ethics, ethnicity, writing, and differences about China--from within the country and from outside--this work deliberately disrupts the boundaries that have previously defined China as an object of study.

Sinographies depends on a respect for the power of texts to shape realities both backward and...

The essays in this thought-provoking volume investigate ideas of China and Chineseness by means of a broad range of texts, languages, and contexts that surround what the editors call the "various written Chinas" through history. Analyzing discourse of civilization, geography, ethics, ethnicity, writing, and differences about China--from within the country and from outside--this work deliberately disrupts the boundaries that have previously defined China as an object of study.

Sinographies depends on a respect for the power of texts to shape realities both backward and...