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The Epistolary Self and Psychological Warfare: Tuoba Tao's 拓跋燾 (408–452, r. 423–452) Letters and His Southern Audience

The Epistolary Self and Psychological Warfare: Tuoba Tao's 拓跋燾 (408–452, r. 423–452) Letters and... The Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) unified north China in the fifth century CE and stood as a powerful rival to the Liu Song dynasty (420–479) in the south. As military campaigns and diplomatic exchange between the two dynasties became more frequent, both courts strove to deploy a variety of strategies to prevail in the competitions of political authority and legitimacy. This article examines the northern emperor Tuoba Tao's (408–452, r. 423–452) self-representation in his letters delivered to the southern audience at the height of the two states' military struggle. Scholars have ascribed the letters' linguistic simplicity to certain unadorned northern style or ethnic characteristics. The author situates the discussion of Tuoba Tao's letters in the context of courtly composition, diplomatic maneuvers, and historiographical intervention and argues that the simple diction was a deliberate rhetorical choice used by the northern court to construct a different imperial image and to exert psychological influence on the intended readers. Moreover, Shen Yue's (441–513) embedding of the letters in a historical narrative as written documents reshapes the reception of the letters and imposes new interpretive frameworks for later readers. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture Duke University Press

The Epistolary Self and Psychological Warfare: Tuoba Tao's 拓跋燾 (408–452, r. 423–452) Letters and His Southern Audience

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Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by Duke University Press
ISSN
2329-0048
eISSN
2329-0056
DOI
10.1215/23290048-8313507
Publisher site
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Abstract

The Northern Wei dynasty (386–534) unified north China in the fifth century CE and stood as a powerful rival to the Liu Song dynasty (420–479) in the south. As military campaigns and diplomatic exchange between the two dynasties became more frequent, both courts strove to deploy a variety of strategies to prevail in the competitions of political authority and legitimacy. This article examines the northern emperor Tuoba Tao's (408–452, r. 423–452) self-representation in his letters delivered to the southern audience at the height of the two states' military struggle. Scholars have ascribed the letters' linguistic simplicity to certain unadorned northern style or ethnic characteristics. The author situates the discussion of Tuoba Tao's letters in the context of courtly composition, diplomatic maneuvers, and historiographical intervention and argues that the simple diction was a deliberate rhetorical choice used by the northern court to construct a different imperial image and to exert psychological influence on the intended readers. Moreover, Shen Yue's (441–513) embedding of the letters in a historical narrative as written documents reshapes the reception of the letters and imposes new interpretive frameworks for later readers.

Journal

Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture – Duke University Press

Published: Apr 1, 2020

References

  • The Disputation at Pengcheng: Accounts from the Wei shu and the Song shu
    Dien, Albert Wendy Swartz Robert Campany Yang Lu Jessey Choo
  • The Metageography of the Northern and Southern Dynasties
    Felt, David Jonathan
  • The Xianbei in Chinese History
    Holcombe, Charles
  • From the Eastern Jin through the Early Tang.
    Tian, Xiaofei Kang-i Sun Chang Stephen Owen
  • Representing Kingship and Imagining Empire in Southern Dynasties Court Poetry
    Tian, Xiaofei
  • Beichao shuxin yanjiu” 北朝書信研究
    Wang Kun 王坤
  • A History of Northern Dynasties Literature
    Zheng, Xiaorong
  • The Disputation at Pengcheng: Accounts from the Wei shu and the Song shu
    Dien, Albert Wendy Swartz Robert Campany Yang Lu Jessey Choo
  • The Metageography of the Northern and Southern Dynasties
    Felt, David Jonathan
  • The Xianbei in Chinese History
    Holcombe, Charles
  • From the Eastern Jin through the Early Tang.
    Tian, Xiaofei Kang-i Sun Chang Stephen Owen
  • Representing Kingship and Imagining Empire in Southern Dynasties Court Poetry
    Tian, Xiaofei
  • Beichao shuxin yanjiu” 北朝書信研究
    Wang Kun 王坤
  • A History of Northern Dynasties Literature
    Zheng, Xiaorong