Derk Bodde was a sinologist specializing in early Chinese thought and society, and this academic book, published by Princeton University Press, is a detailed study of the annual festival calendar of the Han dynasty, working from the historical record of court and popular observance rather than from later reconstructed tradition. Its strength is Bodde's close philological engagement with the primary Chinese sources describing these festivals, treating the Han calendar as a specific historical system rather than an undifferentiated ancient Chinese custom. Its limit is chronological focus, it documents festival practice of one particular dynasty and does not attempt to trace how those observances changed across the many later centuries of Chinese history, so later periods need their own separate sources.
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Derk Bodde's scholarly study of annual festivals in Han dynasty China, covering their origins, timing and ritual observance; a study of the Han period specifically, not a general source on later Chinese festival practice. NotesDerk Bodde's scholarly study of annual festivals in Han dynasty China, covering their origins, timing and ritual observance. Use for established historical facts about Han-era Chinese festivals; a study of the Han period specifically, not a general source on later Chinese festival practice.
Citation
AuthorDerk Bodde
PublisherPrinceton University Press
Publication Year1975
URLhttps://archive.org/details/festivalsinclass0000derk
Source Typeacademic monograph
Claims Backed By This Source (90 claims)
This source backs 90 claims across the atlas. As facts: 65 well-attested. As cited relationships: 14 holds. Plus 11 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Holidays & Festivals, 41 claims: 31 well-attested, 5 holds, 5 general references.
- Articles, 14 claims: 14 well-attested.
- Rituals, 11 claims: 7 well-attested, 2 holds, 2 general references.
- Sacred Foods, 8 claims: 4 well-attested, 2 holds, 2 general references.
- Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
- Calendars, 6 claims: 5 holds, 1 general references.
- Historical Periods, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
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