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Papers by Scott Gregory

Ming Studies, 2020

I wanted to begin by asking you about the early days of your career, which seems to me to be a ve... more I wanted to begin by asking you about the early days of your career, which seems to me to be a very foundational period in the study of Ming-Qing fiction. Your The Novel in Seventeenth Century Chin...

East Asian Publishing and Society, 2017

The vernacular fiction ‘novel’ is a genre typically associated with the explosion of commercial p... more The vernacular fiction ‘novel’ is a genre typically associated with the explosion of commercial printing activity that occurred in the late sixteenth century. However, by that time, representative works such as theShuihu zhuanandSanguo yanyihad already been in print for several decades. Moreover, those early print editions were printed not by commercial entities but rather the elite of the Jiajing court. In order to better understand the genre as a print phenomenon, this paper explores the publishing output of one of those elites: Guo Xun (1475-1542), Marquis of Wuding. In addition to vernacular fiction, Guo printed a number of other types of books as well. This paper examines the entirety of his publishing activities in order to better contextualize the vernacular novel at this early stage in its life in print.

Ming Studies, 2015

Abstract Though many novels produced in the Ming dynasty were based on historical subjects, only ... more Abstract Though many novels produced in the Ming dynasty were based on historical subjects, only a very few were inspired by historical events of the Ming itself. Of those few that were, the so-called “present-dynasty novels,” by far the most complex was the Sanbao taijian xiyang ji 三寶太監西洋記, or The Record of the Eunuch Sanbao's Journeys in the Western Seas. Published in 1598, the novel is a highly fictionalized account of the voyages of Zheng He, which had occurred nearly two centuries previous. Due to the fantastical elements of its plot, the Sanbao is often regarded as a mere adventure story. This paper argues that, to the contrary, the novel skillfully blends history and fiction to reflect concerns of the late Ming era. The paper demonstrates how the novel makes self-conscious reference to other well-known works of fiction, highlighting its own fictionality at the same time it depicts “historical” figures and events. It also argues that the novel's use of the lost imperial seal of state as the journey's impetus reflects anxieties about the legitimacy of the dynasty and also cleverly solves the problem of “present-dynasty” fiction.

T'oung Pao, 2012

... The Three Beauties), Xunfang yaji 尋芳雅集 (Elegant vignettes of fragrant pursuits, hereafter Fra... more ... The Three Beauties), Xunfang yaji 尋芳雅集 (Elegant vignettes of fragrant pursuits, hereafter Fragrant Pursuits), Tianyuan qiyu 天緣奇遇 (Celestial destinies remarkably fulfilled, hereafter Celestial Destinies), Liusheng mi Lian ji 劉生覓 蓮記 (Story of Scholar Liu's quest of the lotus ...

Though many novels produced in the Ming dynasty were based on historical subjects, only a very fe... more Though many novels produced in the Ming dynasty were based on historical subjects, only a very few were inspired by historical events of the Ming itself. Of those few that were, the so-called “present-dynasty novels,” by far the most complex was the Sanbao taijian xiyang ji 三寶太監西洋記, or The Record of the Eunuch Sanbao's Journeys in the Western Seas. Published in 1598, the novel is a highly fictionalized account of the voyages of Zheng He, which had occurred nearly two centuries previous.

Due to the fantastical elements of its plot, the Sanbao is often regarded as a mere adventure story. This paper argues that, to the contrary, the novel skillfully blends history and fiction to reflect concerns of the late Ming era. The paper demonstrates how the novel makes self-conscious reference to other well-known works of fiction, highlighting its own fictionality at the same time it depicts “historical” figures and events. It also argues that the novel's use of the lost imperial seal of state as the journey's impetus reflects anxieties about the legitimacy of the dynasty and also cleverly solves the problem of “present-dynasty” fiction.

Book Reviews by Scott Gregory

Journal of Asian Studies, 2022

Books by Scott Gregory

Bandits in Print examines the world of print in early modern China, focusing on the classic novel... more Bandits in Print examines the world of print in early modern China, focusing on the classic novel The Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan). Depending on which edition a reader happened upon, The Water Margin could offer vastly different experiences, a characteristic of the early modern Chinese novel genre and the shifting print culture of the era.

Scott W. Gregory argues that the traditional novel is best understood as a phenomenon of print. He traces the ways in which this particularly influential novel was adapted and altered in the early modern era as it crossed the boundaries of elite and popular, private and commercial, and civil and martial. Moving away from ultimately unanswerable questions about authorship and urtext, Gregory turns instead to the editor-publishers who shaped the novel by crafting their own print editions. By examining the novel in its various incarnations, Bandits in Print shows that print is not only a stabilizing force on literary texts; in particular circumstances and with particular genres, the print medium can be an agent of textual change.

Ming Studies, 2020

I wanted to begin by asking you about the early days of your career, which seems to me to be a ve... more I wanted to begin by asking you about the early days of your career, which seems to me to be a very foundational period in the study of Ming-Qing fiction. Your The Novel in Seventeenth Century Chin...

East Asian Publishing and Society, 2017

The vernacular fiction ‘novel’ is a genre typically associated with the explosion of commercial p... more The vernacular fiction ‘novel’ is a genre typically associated with the explosion of commercial printing activity that occurred in the late sixteenth century. However, by that time, representative works such as theShuihu zhuanandSanguo yanyihad already been in print for several decades. Moreover, those early print editions were printed not by commercial entities but rather the elite of the Jiajing court. In order to better understand the genre as a print phenomenon, this paper explores the publishing output of one of those elites: Guo Xun (1475-1542), Marquis of Wuding. In addition to vernacular fiction, Guo printed a number of other types of books as well. This paper examines the entirety of his publishing activities in order to better contextualize the vernacular novel at this early stage in its life in print.

Ming Studies, 2015

Abstract Though many novels produced in the Ming dynasty were based on historical subjects, only ... more Abstract Though many novels produced in the Ming dynasty were based on historical subjects, only a very few were inspired by historical events of the Ming itself. Of those few that were, the so-called “present-dynasty novels,” by far the most complex was the Sanbao taijian xiyang ji 三寶太監西洋記, or The Record of the Eunuch Sanbao's Journeys in the Western Seas. Published in 1598, the novel is a highly fictionalized account of the voyages of Zheng He, which had occurred nearly two centuries previous. Due to the fantastical elements of its plot, the Sanbao is often regarded as a mere adventure story. This paper argues that, to the contrary, the novel skillfully blends history and fiction to reflect concerns of the late Ming era. The paper demonstrates how the novel makes self-conscious reference to other well-known works of fiction, highlighting its own fictionality at the same time it depicts “historical” figures and events. It also argues that the novel's use of the lost imperial seal of state as the journey's impetus reflects anxieties about the legitimacy of the dynasty and also cleverly solves the problem of “present-dynasty” fiction.

T'oung Pao, 2012

... The Three Beauties), Xunfang yaji 尋芳雅集 (Elegant vignettes of fragrant pursuits, hereafter Fra... more ... The Three Beauties), Xunfang yaji 尋芳雅集 (Elegant vignettes of fragrant pursuits, hereafter Fragrant Pursuits), Tianyuan qiyu 天緣奇遇 (Celestial destinies remarkably fulfilled, hereafter Celestial Destinies), Liusheng mi Lian ji 劉生覓 蓮記 (Story of Scholar Liu's quest of the lotus ...

Though many novels produced in the Ming dynasty were based on historical subjects, only a very fe... more Though many novels produced in the Ming dynasty were based on historical subjects, only a very few were inspired by historical events of the Ming itself. Of those few that were, the so-called “present-dynasty novels,” by far the most complex was the Sanbao taijian xiyang ji 三寶太監西洋記, or The Record of the Eunuch Sanbao's Journeys in the Western Seas. Published in 1598, the novel is a highly fictionalized account of the voyages of Zheng He, which had occurred nearly two centuries previous.

Due to the fantastical elements of its plot, the Sanbao is often regarded as a mere adventure story. This paper argues that, to the contrary, the novel skillfully blends history and fiction to reflect concerns of the late Ming era. The paper demonstrates how the novel makes self-conscious reference to other well-known works of fiction, highlighting its own fictionality at the same time it depicts “historical” figures and events. It also argues that the novel's use of the lost imperial seal of state as the journey's impetus reflects anxieties about the legitimacy of the dynasty and also cleverly solves the problem of “present-dynasty” fiction.

Journal of Asian Studies, 2022

Bandits in Print examines the world of print in early modern China, focusing on the classic novel... more Bandits in Print examines the world of print in early modern China, focusing on the classic novel The Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan). Depending on which edition a reader happened upon, The Water Margin could offer vastly different experiences, a characteristic of the early modern Chinese novel genre and the shifting print culture of the era.

Scott W. Gregory argues that the traditional novel is best understood as a phenomenon of print. He traces the ways in which this particularly influential novel was adapted and altered in the early modern era as it crossed the boundaries of elite and popular, private and commercial, and civil and martial. Moving away from ultimately unanswerable questions about authorship and urtext, Gregory turns instead to the editor-publishers who shaped the novel by crafting their own print editions. By examining the novel in its various incarnations, Bandits in Print shows that print is not only a stabilizing force on literary texts; in particular circumstances and with particular genres, the print medium can be an agent of textual change.