[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-115219-en":3,"doc-seo-115219-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},115219,687207020761,"Patrick","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d",2,"Literature","Early Globalism and Chinese Literature - Elements in the Global Middle Ages - Early Globalism and Chinese Literature","Exploring “early globalism and Chinese literature” through the lens of “literary diffusion,” this Element analyzes two primary forms: Buddhist literary diffusion and facilitated diffusion connected to the maritime world. The Buddhist strand highlights scriptural translation, transformation texts (bianwen), and “Journey to the West” narratives, showing how these processes reshaped Chinese language and literary culture. The maritime strand traces the spread of Cinderella stories through seafaring migration and examines the totalizing worldview in literature about Zheng He’s voyages, arguing for a lasting imprint of early global literary diffusion.","The Global Middle Ages  \nEarly Globalism and Chinese Literature  \nYuanfei Wang and Victor H. Mair  \nISSN 2632-3427 (online)  \n27:22, subject to IShSN2632-34g19 (print)eorms  \nElements in the Global Middle Ages  \nedited by  \nGeraldine Heng  \nUniversity of Texas at Austin  \nSusan J. Noakes  \nUniversity of Minnesota–Twin Cities  \nLynn Ramey  \nVanderbilt University  \nEARLY GLOBALISM AND CHINESE LITERATURE  \nYuanfei Wang  \nLingnan University  \nVictor H. Mair University of Pennsylvania  \nShaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8EA, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA  \n477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia  \n314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025, India  \nCambridge University Press is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a department of the University of Cambridge.  \nWe share the University’s mission to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.  \n[www.cambridge.org](www.cambridge.org)  \nInformation on this [title: www.cambridge.org/9781009500159](title: www.cambridge.org/9781009500159)[ ](title: www.cambridge.org/9781009500159)DOI: 10. 1017/9781009272360  \n© Yuanfei Wang and Victor H. Mair 2026  \nThis publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, with the exception of the Creative Commons version the link for which is provided below, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press &  \nAssessment.  \nAn online version of this work is published at 10.1017/9781009272360 under a Creative Commons Open Access license CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 which permits re-use, distribution and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes providing appropriate credit to the original work is given. You may not distribute derivative works without permission. To view a copy of this license, visit [https://creativecom](https://creativecom)[mons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0](mons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0)  \nWhen citing this work, please include a reference to the DOI 10.1017/9781009272360  \nFirst published 2026  \nA catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library  \nISBN 978-1-009-50015-9 Hardback  \nISBN 978-1-009-27235-3 Paperback  \nISSN 2632-3427 (online)  \nISSN 2632-3419 (print)  \nAdditional resources for this publication [at www.cambridge.org/earlyglobalism](at www.cambridge.org/earlyglobalism)  \nCambridge University Press & Assessment has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,  \naccurate or appropriate.  \nFor EU product safety concerns, contact us at Calle de José Abascal, 56, 1°, 28003 Madrid, Spain, or email [eugpsr@cambridge.org](eugpsr@cambridge.org)  \nEarly Globalism and Chinese Literature  \nElements in the Global Middle Ages  \nDOI: 10.1017/9781009272360 First published online: February 2026  \nYuanfei Wang  \nLingnan University  \nVictor H. Mair  \nUniversity of Pennsylvania  \nAuthor for correspondence: Yuanfei Wang, [yuanfeiwang@ln.edu.hk](yuanfeiwang@ln.edu.hk)  \nAbstract: Exploring “early globalism and Chinese literature” through the lens of “literary diffusion,” this Element analyzes two primary forms. The first is Buddhist literary diffusion, whose revolutionary impact on Chinese language and literature is illustrated through scriptural translation, transformation texts, and “journey to the West” stories. The second, facilitated diffusion, engages with the maritime world, traced through the seafaring journey of Cinderella stories and the totalizing worldview in literature on Zheng He’s voyages. The authors contend that early global literary diffusion left a lasting imprint on Chinese language, literature, and culture. This title is ","cbCaif47D6OwkU1L","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaif47D6OwkU1L","pdf",8986937,8,1,100,"English","en",105,"# Prologue\n# PART I BUDDHISM AND LITERATURE\n## Introduction to Part I\n## Buddhist Translation and the Chinese Language\n## Bianwen (“Transformation Texts”) and Their Importance\n## Buddhism, the Literary World, and the “Journey to the West” Stories\n# PART II SEA AND STORY\n## Introduction to Part II\n## Maritime Circulation of the Cinderella Story\n## Voyages of Zheng He: The World in Ming Literature\n# Epilogue\n# Appendix\n# References","[{\"question\":\"What framework does the Element use to study early globalism and Chinese literature?\",\"answer\":\"It uses “literary diffusion” to examine how literary forms and words move across cultures over long periods of time.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Buddhist literary diffusion influence Chinese language and literature?\",\"answer\":\"Through scriptural translation and transformation texts, and by shaping narratives such as the “Journey to the West” stories and the broader literary world of Buddhism.\"},{\"question\":\"How are Cinderella stories and Zheng He linked to the maritime side of early global literary diffusion?\",\"answer\":\"Cinderella stories are traced through seafaring migration, while literature on Zheng He’s voyages is used to explain a totalizing worldview connected with facilitated diffusion in the maritime sphere.\"}]","Early Globalism and Chinese Literature - 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