＂Considers the role of hiddenness in the history of cultural production in premodern China. This volume brings together fourteen essays that explore the role of hiddenness--as both an object
and a mode of representation--in the history of cultural production in China from the Warring States Period (403-221 BCE) to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1911) and beyond. The rhetorical use of
various forms of hiddenness makes its appearance in literary, political, philosophical, and religious writings, as well as in the visual arts. Working in fields as disparate as traditional
Chinese literature, religion, philosophy, history, medicine, and art, the contributors attempt to characterize one of the fundamental signifying practices in traditional Chinese cultural
production. In the process, they not only reveal otherwise obscure patterns connecting longstanding social, political, aesthetic, and epistemological practices, but also contribute to ongoing
discussions--well beyond the field of China studies--regarding therepresentation and communicability of knowledge, as well as the practices controlling its dissemination＂--From publisher’s
website.
