Notions of Sleep in Early Chinese Literature

中國先秦兩漢文學中的睡眠概念

This page provides information in English about my book Das Bild des Schlafes in der altchinesischen Literatur (Hamburger Sinologische Schriften 4), published by Hamburger Sinologische Gesellschaft in 2001 (ISBN 3-935664-03-5).

Reviews:
Livia Kohn in Chinesische Medizin 17.4 (2002): 175f.
Jean-Pierre Diény in Revue bibliographique de sinologie 20 (2002): 303f.
Monique Nagel-Angermann in Asiatische Studien 57.1 (2003): 58ff.

Confucius condemns one of his disciples for having a lie-down in the daytime. Why, then, does the Master himself take a mid-day nap? Another ancient Chinese philosopher is delighted when one of his pupils falls asleep in the middle of a lesson. About a king we read that he nodded off while checking account books, so giving his subjects opportunity to falsify the books.
The author of this study introduces and analyses the main notions of sleep in received and tomb texts of Early China (c. 500 BC – AD 200). Starting from lexical investigations she inquires into the perception of sleep as a natural, social and psychological phenomenon, giving special consideration to the rhetorical functions of sleep in a given context.
The different conceptions of sleep she identifies, in surprising lucidity, highlight principal features of the different so-called "schools of thought" of Early China. Starting from narratives about sleep, the main rhetorical aims of a text may be deduced. Moreover, the fresh perspective on ancient Chinese literature discovers motives and intertextual relations that are also relevant beyond the question of sleep.

Table of Contents (translation)

Introduction
State of the Art
Aims and Methods

Part I: Lexical Preliminaries
1. Relevant Words
    1.1 Mei
    1.2 Ming
    1.3 Qin
    1.4 Wo
    1.5 Shui
    1.6 Wu and jiao
2. Conclusion

Part II: Sleep as a Natural Phenomenon
1. Explanations of Bodily Functions during Sleep
    1.1 Intact Sleep
    1.2 Disturbed Sleep
    1.3 Dreams
2. The Identity of Sleep and Night
3. Wen Zhi's Teachings about Sleep
4. Conclusion

Part III: Sleep as a Social Phenomenon
1. The Constitution of the Social Relevance of Sleep
    1.1 Sleep as Pleasure and Refuge
    1.2 The Association of Sleep with Other Pleasures
          1.2.1 Sleep and Eating
          1.2.2 Sleep and Drinking
          1.2.3 Sleep and Music
          1.2.4 Sleep and Sex
2. Sleeping Time
    2.1 Time
          2.1.1 Nighttime is the Right Time
          2.1.2 Daytime Sleeping
    2.2 Duration
          2.2.1 Early to Rise, Late to Bed
          2.2.2 To Forget Sleep at Night
3. Circumstances of Sleeping
    3.1 Diverse Instructions
    3.2 Sleep and Filial Piety
4. Conclusion

Part IV: Sleep as a Psychological Phenomenon
1. Dangers of Sleeping
    1.1 Murder in Bed
    1.2 Sleep and Loss of Control as Topics in Legalist Writing
          1.2.1 Suspicion towards Sleep
          1.2.2 Sleep as a Metaphor for the Redundancy of Control
2. Insomnia
3. Conclusion

Part V: Sleep as a Counter Concept
1. The Praise of Dreamless Sleep
2. Sleep and Death

Summary

Appendix
Abbreviations
Chinese Dynasties
List of Primary Sources
List of Quotations from Primary Sources
Distribution of Relevant Words
Bibliography
Index