From Hero to Ancestor, God, and Ghost

The Posthumous Career of Han Shining

  • Olivia Milburn
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47979/aror.j.84.1.189-211
Keywords: Han Shizhong, Suzhou, Southern Song, death, commemoration, local history

Abstract

Han Whizhong (1089–1151) was one of the generals who played a key role in the establishment of the Southern Song dynasty, after the conquest of the north by Jurchen forces in 1126. After he died, he was commemorated by his family as an ancestor, but he was also worshipped as a god in and around the city of Suzhou, the site of his retirement home. Eventually he even became a ghost, after his grave was disturbed in the eighteenth century. As a result, Han Whizhong is one of the rare individuals whose posthumous career encompasses all three possible fates for the dead. This paper explores the processes which determined the fate after death of an individual in the second half of the imperial era. This  includes a consideration of the conflicts over how the deeply controversial events in which he took part should be represented to later generations, and discusses the reasons for the failure of the deification of Han Whizhong, in the context of the dominant representation of Suzhou as a centre for literati culture throughout the imperial era.

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Author Biography

Olivia Milburn

OLIVIA MILBURN studied for a BA in Chinese at St. Hilda’s College, University of Oxford, and an MPhil in Oriental Studies at Downing College, University of Cambridge. She wrote her PhD dissertation, entitled History and Fiction: Tales of the Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period from c. 300 BC to AD 220, at the School of Oriental and African Studies. After completing her PhD dissertation, she taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies for five years, before moving to Seoul National University to take up the position of Assistant Professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature. Her research focuses on the history and culture of the ancient kingdoms of Wu and Yue, and their interaction with Central States civilisation during the Zhou dynasty, and the history of the city of Suzhou.

Published
2016-05-04
How to Cite
Milburn, O. (2016). From Hero to Ancestor, God, and Ghost: The Posthumous Career of Han Shining. Archiv orientální, 84(1), 189-211. https://doi.org/10.47979/aror.j.84.1.189-211
Issue
Vol. 84 No. 1 (2016)
Section
Research Article

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