From Oracle Bones to Computers. Baotong Gu
From Oracle Bones to Computers
The Emergence of Writing Technologies in China
Baotong Gu
Parlor Press
West Lafayette, Indiana
www.parlorpress.com
Parlor Press LLC, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906
© 2009 by Parlor Press
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
S A N: 2 5 4 - 8 8 7 9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gu, Baotong, 1963-
From oracle bones to computers : the emergence of writing technologies in China / Baotong Gu.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60235-101-1 (acid-free paper) -- ISBN 978-1-60235-100-4 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
1. Writing--China--Materials and instruments--History. 2. Written communication--Technological innovations--China--History. 3. Written communication--Technological innovations--History. I. Title.
Z45.G83 2009
303.48’30951--dc22
2009008637
Cover design by David Blakesley.
Printed on acid-free paper.
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To my parents and billions of other Chinese who never had the privilege to enjoy literacy
Contents
1 Introduction: (De)Mystifying the Chinese Culture
3 Rhetoricizing and Operationalizing Technology
4 Oracle and Bronze Inscriptions
5 Early Forms of Pen, Ink, and Paper
7 Block Printing and Movable Type
9 The Computer and the Internet
10 Conclusion: Toward a More Pluralistic Model of Knowledge Construction
Appendix: Milestone First Events in China’s Internet Use
Acknowledgments
It is not until you undertake a project like this that you realize how much you must rely on the selfless efforts of others. Though only my name appears on the cover as the author of this book, I can never justifiably claim sole authorship. I owe the completion of this book project to a number of people, to whom no language is adequate to express my deep-felt gratitude.
This book originated in my dissertation work at Purdue, so my first word of thanks goes to the members of my dissertation committee: Patricia Sullivan, James Porter, Janice Lauer, Johndan Johnson-Eilola, and Tony Silva. Their insightful comments and advice molded my initial thinking on the project and helped lay a solid foundation for this book.
I am also deeply grateful to my colleagues at Georgia State University, especially to Randy Malamud and George Pullman for their constant moral support and encouragement, which provided me with much of the strength and resolve I needed to complete the project; to my Rhetoric and Composition colleagues for their help and advice in many facets of my professional life, and to Angela Hall-Godsey for taking care of much of the drudgery work of Lower Division Studies so that I could concentrate on this book.
I owe a special thank-you to the staff at Parlor Press, especially to editor David Blakesley for steering me along the right course throughout this publication process and making it basically painless, to the two anonymous reviewers for their selfless work and very helpful advice on improving my manuscript, and to copyeditor Rebecca Longster for her meticulous attention to details and her overall excellent job, which has spared me a lot of embarrassment.
My final word of thanks goes to my family—my wife, Li, and my children, Shelly and Shawn—whose patience and moral support have made this project possible.
1 Introduction: (De)Mystifying the Chinese Culture
These “Ocean Men” [foreigners], as they are called . . . are tall beasts with deep sunken eyes and beaklike noses. The lower part of their faces, the backs of their hands, and I understand, their entire bodies are covered with a mat of curly hair, much as are the monkeys of the southern forests. But the strangest part about them is that, although undoubtedly men, they seem to possess none of the mental faculties of men. The most bestial of peasants is far more human, although these Ocean Men go from place to place with the self-reliance of a man of scholarship and are in some respects exceedingly clever. It is quite possible that they are susceptible to training and could with patience be taught the modes of conduct proper to a human being. (cited in Oliver, 1971, p. 5)
The above passage is the depiction by a scholarly Chinese of his first impression of white men in his country. The absurdity of such a perception is beyond question. However, that somebody should view a fellow human being, though of a different race, in such a manner is by no means a uniquely Chinese phenomenon. What is of interest here is not the absurdity of the story or the ignorance of a particular human being or species, for mere ignorance cannot adequately explain such a phenomenon. Nor is the observer’s possible prejudice to take the blame. What is at work is the observer’s enculturated consciousness, which is facilitating, albeit to a woeful effect, his reconstruction of the white men based on his experience of members of the white race, which, unfortunately, is extremely limited.
What, then, does this have to do with writing technologies?
The answer, which is far more complicated than I can articulate here, lies in people’s perception and subsequent rhetorical construction of the meaning of a particular phenomenon, ideology, or artifact . . . be it a foreigner