Esther Klein | The Australian National University (original) (raw)

Papers by Esther Klein

Albert Galvany ed., The Craft of Oblivion: Forgetting and Memory in Ancient China, 2023

The Qin bibliocaust might have been the best thing that ever happened to the Chinese Classical tr... more The Qin bibliocaust might have been the best thing that ever happened to the Chinese Classical tradition. The threat of loss triggers the instinct to protect and preserve, while the reality of loss sharpens one’s priorities and serves as an impetus to creativity. Taking a cue from the way Han thinkers deployed the memory of the book-burning, I examine the language of neglect, forgetting, loss, and obliteration in the Shiji, both in the Historian’s own comments and in the sources on which the Shiji draws. I will show how the function of this language is largely motivational and that its upshot is often as constructive as it is tragic. It is no surprise that loss should be portrayed negatively in a text dedicated to preservation. Rhetorically, however, talk of forgetting and obliteration occurs in contexts that are unexpectedly optimistic. Forgetting may well be temporary or avoidable, and it is often possible to recover or recreate—at least in part—what was lost.

BRILL eBooks, Nov 6, 2018

ANU Press eBooks, Apr 21, 2021

Dao Companion to the Philosophy of the Zhuangzi

Asia Major Third Series, 2016

32 page(s

Confucius and the <i>Analects</i> Revisited, 2018

Dao, 2013

This article explores the connection between the Heng Xian and the Changes of Zhou tradition, esp... more This article explores the connection between the Heng Xian and the Changes of Zhou tradition, especially the “Tuan” and “Attached Verbalizations” commentaries. Two important Heng Xian terms—heng 恆 and fu 復—are also Changes of Zhou hexagrams and possible connections are explored. Second, the Heng Xian account of the creation of names is compared with the “Attached Verbalizations” account of the creation of the Changes of Zhou system. Third, the roles played by knowing and desire in both Heng Xian and the Changes of Zhou tradition are explored, with particular focus on potential points of similarity. Finally, insights gained through these comparisons are used to interpret the Heng Xian advice on initiating action.

Albert Galvany ed., The Craft of Oblivion: Forgetting and Memory in Ancient China, 2023

BRILL eBooks, Nov 6, 2018

ANU Press eBooks, Apr 21, 2021

Dao Companion to the Philosophy of the Zhuangzi

Asia Major Third Series, 2016

32 page(s

Confucius and the <i>Analects</i> Revisited, 2018

Dao, 2013

In Father of Chinese History, Esther Klein explores the life and work of the great Han dynasty hi... more In Father of Chinese History, Esther Klein explores the life and work of the great Han dynasty historian Sima Qian as seen by readers from the Han to the Song dynasties. Today Sima Qian is viewed as both a tragic hero and a literary genius. Premodern responses to him were more equivocal: the complex personal emotions he expressed prompted readers to worry about whether his work as a historian was morally or politically acceptable. Klein demonstrates how controversies over the value and meaning of Sima Qian’s work are intimately bound up with larger questions: How should history be written? What role does individual experience and self-expression play within that process? By what standards can the historian’s choices be judged?

A long-standing question in the field of philosophy is, What does a good life look like? Susan Wo... more A long-standing question in the field of philosophy is, What does a good life look like? Susan Wolf's well-known paper on "Moral Saints" raises the possibility that there is such a thing as a life that is too good (in the sense of moral goodness). My work on moral sainthood in Ancient China shows how Chinese thinkers were also preoccupied with this question, and discusses the role played by often tragic moral saints in ancient Chinese historical and philosophical discussions.