Dr. Xiaojing Miao鈥檚 Talk about Literary Self-Promotion in Tang China
On March 12, 2024, Dr. Xiaojing Miao, Stanley Ho Junior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, gave a talk in the CAS Seminar Series on strategies of Tang Dynasty literati to enter officialdom and become part of the governmental bureaucracy. The talk focused on several self-recommendation writings that literati鈥攂oth famous writers and writers who are little known today鈥攈ad composed and addressed to a number of potential patrons, ranging from local administrators to ministers in court and emperors. The talk introduced the aspects of themselves that writers emphasized鈥攎ostly their superior education, literary talent, and political goals鈥攁nd explained the strategies they adopted to distinguish themselves from their peers, the other contenders in the struggle for patronage and, eventually, one of the desired government positions. Dr. Miao examined writings of self- promotion across various genres, including letters and poetry, aiming to enhance our understanding of notions of self and the modes of self-representation in Tang China and to reveal the unspoken rules of these patronage-seeking activities. Among the most interesting strategies was the pretense of withdrawal from public political life on the part of the literatus, a move that often seemed to have triggered their promotion. Another surprising convention was the exaggerated and sometimes overtly unrealistic description of a writer鈥檚 reduced circumstances and hardships, often with literary flourish, to show the writer鈥檚 need of a position to support their family and especially their parents. Yet another unexpected historical phenomenon was the open use of 鈥済host-writers.鈥 By showing that the literatus in question was able to convince a better-know writer-official to compose a piece of self-recommendation on their behalf, the literatus demonstrated how well connected and thus worthy of employment he was. The talk gave insight into historical circumstances and literary practices well beyond what is usually known about the Tang Dynasty.