Scott B. Cook

This project will build upon my ongoing study of the recently unearthed Chinese Confucian texts of Guodian (Hubei Province) and the Shanghai Museum (both ca. 300 BCE), using them as a framework for reexamining certain central debates within the Chinese intellectual tradition, as well as contextualizing those debates in relation to similar themes throughout world history.

Throughout the Chinese cultural tradition, the pleasures and pains of alcohol have often been a central focus of political, intellectual, and literary discourse, the perfect trope for everything from poetic inspiration to political downfall. While ripe with potential for historical discovery and cross-cultural insight, this topic has thus far received little attention. This project explores the role of alcohol in early Chinese intellectual history, toward a more broadly comparative study on Chinese alcohol culture.