In “Literati Networks and Communication during the Jin-Yuan Transition: A Study of the Letters to Lü Xun in Epistolary Writings of the Central Plain,” (金元之際的士人網絡與訊息溝通——以《中州啟劄》內與呂遜的書信為中心) I reconstruct the movement of Lü Xun and his epistolary network in the northern territories during the Jin-Yuan transition on the basis of about thirty letters addressed to Lü Xun in the fourteenth-century letter collection Epistolary Writings of the Central Plain (Zhongzhou qizha 中州啟劄). It reveals how Lü Xun served as a bridge between two core groups of Confucian scholars in the early Yuan. Through an analysis of the content and historical context of various letters to Lü Xun, we can see how literati in the north conveyed requests and encouragements and supported each other during difficult times.

Brent Ho has developed an interactive reading platform that allows for the visualization of the epistolary networks in Epistolary Writings of the Central Plain. Readers can follow the links below to the reading platform, full text of the letters in Epistolary Writings of the Central Plain, and my network data. 

Letters in Epistolary Writings of the Central Plain

Interactive reading platform | network data (excel)

Full text of the letters in Epistolary Writings of the Central Plain: MARKUS file