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xi For almost as long as I have studied Chinese art, I have been intrigued by pictures that illustrate stories and by the issues that multiple versions raise. Early on, as a graduate-student intern looking through the Chinese painting collection at the Metropolitan Museum, I happened upon Raising the Alms-bowl, a colorful and lively painting depicting the conversion of Hāritī, the “Mother of Demons.” My after-hours research on that subject introduced me to the fascinating realm of popular narrative art, far removed from the literati painting and calligraphy of my academic curriculum. Later, my dissertation on Southern Song illustrations of the Shijing not only further engaged me with the problem of multiple versions but also led me to explore the political considerations involved in imperial patronage of art on classical themes. The opportunity to participate in the Latter Days of the Law exhibition and catalog started me on a systematic exploration of Buddhist narrative illustration and its impact on depictions of other kinds of subject matter. A chance encounter with a printed edition of the pictorial biography of Confucius stimulated a major shift in my interests, not only to the plethora of illustrations on that subject but also to other pictures on overtly moralistic and exemplary themes. In journal articles and anthology chapters written over the years, I have presented detailed research on specific narrative illustrations and explored some of the larger issues that are central to the present book, which I intend as an overview and synthesis. Along the way I have been fortunate to enjoy generous support for my research from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School and the H. I. Romnes Faculty Fellowship, as well as from external funding. Postdoctoral fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Smithsonian Institution enabled me to spend a memorable and productive year at the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington, where I examined a large number of little-known handscrolls in the collections and had the leisure to read widely in scholarship on narrative in art and literature . Research grants from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies, and Asian Cultural Council facilitated my worldwide investigation of the pictorial biographies of Confucius and late Ming illustrated anthologies made for imperial instruction. I was able to write much of a first draft for this book while spending a year in Paris at the École pratique des hautes études, IVe Section (Sciences historiques et philologiques). A fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation provided another year of precious time for research and writing, enabling me to produce most of the final manuscript. Rewarding discussions and interactions with various colleagues over the years have greatly sharpened my thinking and stimulated my understanding. I have learned much about the cult of Confucius from conversations or scholarly collaborations with Tom Wilson ,MarkCsikszentmihalyi,DeborahSommer,LionelJensen,and Hans van Ess; about woodblock printing and book culture from Cynthia Brokaw, Lucille Chia, Sören Edgren, and Nancy Norton Tomasko; about forms and functions of narrative art from Gene Phillips, Vidya Dehejia, Cédric Laurent, and Emmanuelle Lesbre; and various historical or sinological issues from Peter Bol, Joe Cutter , Bill Nienhauser, Sue Naquin, Stephen Allee, Tim Barrett, Lü Zongli, and Kong Xurong. I thank past and present Wisconsin graduate students Noelle Giuffrida, Mike Farmer, Michelle Yunju Huang, and Park Jae-Suk for teaching me with their research papers and classroom presentations. I wish also to express my gratitude to the many curators and librarians who facilitated access to their collections, and to the scholarswhohelpedmewiththenecessarycontacts.Amongthem I am particularly indebted to Yang Xin, Yu Hui, Meng Sihui, Sun Liping, Zhang Lijuan, Shen Naiwen, Li Chaoying, Li Shiyu, and Wu Shuping in Beijing; Kong Xianglin in Qufu; Shih Shou-ch’ien, Lin Po-t’ing, and Chen Pao-chen in Taibei; Kohara Hironobu and Acknowledgments Satō Kazuyoshi in Kyoto; Oki Yasushi and Kunigo Hideaki in Tokyo; Jean-Pierre Drège, Michèle Pirazzoli, Alain Thote, Francis Macouin, Monique Cohen, Wingfong Leung, Laure Feugère, Vĕra Linhartová, Vincent Durand-Dastès, and Michela Bussotti in Paris; Jessica Rawson, Carol Michaelson, and Anne Farrer in London; Mike Hearn in New York; Cary Liu and Martin Heijdra in Princeton; Tom Lawton, Jan Stuart, and Lily Kecskes in Washington ; Ben Bronson in Chicago; and Thomas Hahn and Victoria Chu formerly in Madison. Freda Murck, Zhang Hongming, and Philip Hu also generously shared their excellent guanxi at crucial points. It is enormously gratifying...

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