Patrick Hanan
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Patrick Dewes Hanan (4 January 192726 April 2014) was a New Zealand scholar of
Chinese literature The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, and begins with the earliest recorded inscriptions, court archives, building to the major works of philosophy and history written during the Axial Age. The Han dynasty, Han (202  ...
who was the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Chinese Literature at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. A
sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...
, he specialised in pre-20th-century vernacular fiction.Obituary
Obituary Memorial.com


Career

Hanan was born in
Morrinsville Morrinsville () is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Morrinsville is a service town for the local dairy industry; the area surrounding the town has the highest concentration of dairy cattle in New Zealand. ...
, New Zealand and raised on a farm in the
Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
where his father retired from a career in dentistry. Hanan studied English at Auckland University College before going to England, where he enrolled to study Chinese at the
School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
at
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
, taking his undergraduate degree in 1953 and beginning his teaching career there. He spent the academic year 1957–58 in Beijing. Soon after completing his doctoral work and receiving his doctoral degree in 1961, he was recruited to teach on a temporary basis at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1961, then a regular position there in 1963. In 1968, he moved to Harvard, where he taught until his retirement at age 70 in 1997. He was chair of the department of East Asian Languages and Director of the Harvard-Yenching Library, among other services. In the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours, Hanan was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Chinese literature and languages. In 2006, he was conferred with an honorary
LittD Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...
degree by the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
.


Research topic

From 1950 to 1953, Hanan studied at the University of London, received a bachelor's degree, and, after graduating, admitted to the University of London's Asian-African college. He taught students, and at the same time writing doctoral dissertation. He chose the title of " Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji)" in the beginning, wanted to study this historical masterpiece from the literary viewpoint. But his supervisor, Walter Simon, reckoned that there are too many people studying this book, suggesting that he study ''
Jin Ping Mei ''Jin Ping Mei'' ()—translated into English as ''The Plum in the Golden Vase'' or ''The Golden Lotus''—is a Chinese novel of manners composed in vernacular Chinese during the latter half of the 16th century during the late Ming dynasty (1368 ...
'', a
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
erotic masterpiece.
Arthur Waley Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were ...
, an established translator, agreed, so Hanan chose the subject as his doctoral dissertation. He chose ''Jin Ping Mei'' for his doctoral dissertation, and finally formed three series of papers which were published. One in the ''Asian Journal'' in 1962, "The text of the Chin Ping mei," explored the major editions of Jin Ping Mei, the similarities, differences and the relationship between versions. Hanan also made a detailed outline of the relationship between the original and the complement of the book by examining the meaning of the text. The development of Chinese fiction in the 19th and early 20th centuries was one of his most important concerns. The 19th century has often been considered as a relatively stagnant period when compared to the efflorescence of the 17th and 18th centuries for Chinese fiction. The development of Chinese fiction in this period got much less attention from literary critics for its lack of innovation and creativity. However, in the monograph "Chinese fiction of the Nineteenth and early twenties centuries", Hanan proved this view misguided by presenting eleven detailed critical essays. He indicated that Chinese novelists came into much more frequent contact with western fictions and fictional methods in the 19th and early 20th centuries so that literary work was actually experiencing constant evolution. He was interested in examining writings in this period from an integrated approach of combining Chinese classical literary tradition as well as the western narratological techniques. He was also concerned how western missionaries in Chinese society adapted their religious writing to the taste of Chinese readers.


Reactions to his work

A state-of-the-field article written by Robert Hegel, of Washington University in St. Louis in 1994 grouped Hanan with scholars who combine Eastern and Western critical approaches, both close reading of texts typical of Western schools and intense scrutiny of Chinese ''pingdian'', or commentator/ editors. Hanan's first book-length monograph, ''The Chinese Short Story. Studies in Dating, Authorship, and Composition'' (1973) was a "pioneering effort to utilize stylistic analysis to group ''
huaben A ''huaben'' () is a Chinese short- or medium-length story or extended novella written mostly in Vernacular Chinese, vernacular language, sometimes including simple wenyan, classical language. In contrast to a full-length Chinese novel, it is gene ...
'' stories of Yuan and Ming periods that exhibit similar characteristics." Hanan accommodated evidence from more conventional analysis, the reviewer continued, with the result that "his classification scheme is extremely useful in general despite the reservations some have concerning specific details."
David Tod Roy David Tod Roy (; 1933 – May 31, 2016) was an American sinologist and scholar of Chinese literature who was Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago from 1967 until he took early retirement in 1999. Roy is m ...
,
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, wrote of Hanan's "amazing erudition and fecundity ... one of those rare scholars of whom it may be said that his work has permanently altered the landscape of the field." Robert Hegel reviewed Hanan's collection of essays, ''Chinese Fiction of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries'', in the sinologolical journal
T'oung Pao ''T'oung Pao'' (; ), founded in 1890, is a Dutch journal and the oldest international journal of sinology. It is published by the publisher E. J. Brill. ''T'oung Pao'' original full title was ''T'oung Pao ou Archives pour servir à l'étude de l ...
, and said "Any scholarly writing by Patrick Hanan ... is to be welcomed; regardless of topic, it is sure to be worth our careful consideration. This essay collection marks yet another direction taken in his four-decade long career of distinguished publications, and it is as important as his previous writings. Hanan identified Chinese novels for translation that would promote understanding of Chinese society. His translation of Li Yu's ''The Carnal Prayer Mat'' (1990), a reviewer wrote, "has caught the author's sardonic tone, the tongue-in-cheek apology for outlandish ideas and practices, and the uproarious or deadpan humor of both speeches and narration." In his ''A Tower for the Summer Heat'' (1998), he translated six out of twelve stories from Li Yu's ''Shi'er lou''. This translation is known as "highly accurate and very nice stylistically--a truly masterful combination."McMahon, Keith. Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 21 (1999): 173-75. His last translation published before his death was ''
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...
'' (2016), an anonymous novel about the lives of Guangdong merchants who traded with the West. Posthumously in 2017, his translation of
Luo Guanzhong Luo Ben (c. 1330–1400, or c.1280–1360), better known by his courtesy name Guanzhong (Mandarin pronunciation: ), was a Chinese novelist who lived during the Ming dynasty. He is also known by his pseudonym Huhai Sanren (). Luo Guanzhon ...
's ''
The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt ''The Three Sui Quash the Demons' Revolt'' (; ), also translated as ''Quelling the Demons' Revolt'' and ''The Sorcerer's Revolt'', is a Chinese novel attributed to the 14th-century novelist Luo Guanzhong, although the earliest extant version was c ...
'' was published under the title ''Quelling the Demons’ Revolt''.


Major publications

* "The Development of Fiction and Drama", in Raymond Dawson, (ed.), ''The Legacy of China'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964). pp. 115–143. * ''The Chinese Short Story: Studies in Dating, Authorship, and Composition.'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series, 1973). . * ''The Chinese Vernacular Story.'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, Harvard East Asian Series, 1981). . * ''The Invention of Li Yu.'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988). .
Joseph Levenson Book Prize Joseph Levenson Book Prize is awarded each year in memory of Joseph R. Levenson by the Association for Asian Studies to two English-language books, one whose main focus is on China before 1900 and the other for works on post-1900 China. According to ...
1990. * tr. Lin Fu and Jianren Wu. '' The Sea of Regret: Two Turn-of-the-Century Chinese Romantic Novels.'' (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1995). . * "The Missionary Novels of Nineteenth-Century China", ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies ''60.2 (2000): 413–443

* ed., ''Treasures of the Yenching: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Harvard-Yenching Library.'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts; Hong Kong: Harvard-Yenching Library; Distributed by the Chinese University Press, Harvard-Yenching Library Studies No. 1, 2003). Google. * with Judith T. Zeitlin, Lydia H. Liu, Lydia He Liu and Ellen Widmer. ''Writing and Materiality in China: Essays in Honor of Patrick Hanan.'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Published by Harvard University Asia Center for Harvard-Yenching Institute: distributed by Harvard University Press, Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series; 58, 2003). . * ''Chinese Fiction of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries: Essays.'' (New York: Columbia University Press, Masters of Chinese Studies, 2004).
Google Books
* ''Falling in Love: Stories from Ming China.'' (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006). . Annotated bibliography 1. Hanan, Patrick. 1973. ''The Chinese Short Story: Studies in Dating, Authorship, and Composition''. Vol. 21;21.;. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. ''The Chinese Short Story: Studies in Dating, Authorship, and Composition'', is the first monograph of Patrick Hanan, which focuses on the context of literary scholarship and critical approach in the Chinese fiction, which is different from the former attempt of critical study. 2. Hanan, Patrick. 1981. ''The Chinese vernacular story''. Vol. 94. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. ''The Chinese Vernacular Story'' is Hanan's second monograph, that includes both methodology study and theme-oriented case studies. Chapter one introduces the language and style, narrative model and analysis of the Chinese vernacular stories. Chapter two and three discusses the division of Chinese vernacular tales from the early period to the middle period. The following six chapters are specific case study with detailed analysis of the writing of novelist during the late Ming and Qing era, such as Feng Menglong, Langxian, Ling Mengchu, Li Yu, and Aina. 3. Hanan, Patrick, and ACLS Humanities E-Book. 1988. ''The Invention of Li Yu''. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Hanan's third published monograph is ''The Invention of Li Yu'', that invents Li Yu through restoring the writing, life and world of Li Yu, from his drama to fiction, from his habits to personality, from his friends to concubines. 4. Fu, Lin, Jianren Wu, and Patrick Hanan. 1995. ''The Sea of Regret: Two Turn-Of-The-Century Chinese Romantic Novels''. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. His fourth published writing, ''The Sea of Regret: Two Turn-of-the-Century Chinese Romantic Novels'', is the collection of the translation of two romantic novels––''Stone in the Sea'' (Qin hai shi), written by Fu Lin, and ''The Sea of Regret'' (Hen hai), written by Wu Jianren. The later novel is written as the response to the former one. Both of these two novels could be traced to the origin of a tragic ancient Chinese myth, that the daughter of the Fiery Emperor takes the rebirth as a bird after drowns in the Eastern Sea. 5. Hanan, Patrick, Judith T. Zeitlin, Lydia H. Liu, Lydia He Liu, and Ellen Widmer. 2003. ''Writing and Materiality in China: Essays in Honor of Patrick Hanan''. Vol. 58;58.;. Cambridge, Mass: Published by Harvard University Asia Center for Harvard-Yenching Institute. ''Writing and Materiality in China: Essays in Honor of Patrick Hanan'', is not only his fifth monograph, but also be noticed as his first published paper writing in the new century. This is a collection of writing done by Dr. Hanan and his friends, colleagues and disciples. The entire collection is arranged chronologically under numerous but systematic themes, inducing rubbings, writing on walls, actors, late Ming print culture, the emergence and rise of the sense of feeling and individuality in the late Ming, the origin of urban courtesan in the late Qing, and the official popular culture in the twentieth-century China. Readers should be impressed by its wide selection of topics, the span of time, and definitely the honor of both authors and editors/coeditors, such as Judith T. Zeitlin, Lydia H. Liu, Wu Hong, Shang Wei and Sophie Volpp. 6. Hanan, Patrick. 2004. ''Chinese Fiction of The Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries: Essays''. Vol. 2.;2;. New York: Columbia University Press. The sixth monograph written by Patrick Hanan is ''Chinese Fiction of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries'', that is written with independent pieces, but with a systematic content, which is the Chinese fictions written from the nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries, especially the sense of association between the Chinese and Western literary traditions. 7. Hanan, Patrick. 2006. ''Falling in Love: Stories From Ming China''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ''Falling in Love: Stories from Ming China'', should be Hanan's most recent published book. This is the collection of translation of seven outstanding late Ming vernacular stories––"Shengxian", "The Oil Seller" "Marriage Destinies Rearranged", "The Rainbow Slippers", "Wu Yan", "The Reckless Scholar", and "The Lovers’ Tomb". All of these seven stories are from two Ming vernacular-story collection––Xing shi hengyan and Shi dian tou. All seven stories are chosen under a certain theme¬¬––"falling in love" or the cult of enchantment and individual feeling. Also, Hanan discusses the technique of simulated context of late Ming story-writers in addressing their readers and rise a sense of sympathy.


References


External links


Remembering Professor Patrick Hanan (1927–2014)

A Celebration of the Life and Career of Patrick Hanan, 1927–2014

Patrick Hanan
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Patrick Hanan
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* Patrick D. Hanan Book Prize for Translation {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanan, Patrick Dewes 2014 deaths 1927 births New Zealand sinologists New Zealand expatriates in the United States University of Auckland alumni People from Morrinsville China–New Zealand relations Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Harvard University faculty New Zealand expatriates in England