The Vernacular in the World of Wen: Sheldon Pollock’s Model in East Asia?

Abstract

Does Sheldon Pollock’s model of the emergence of vernaculars in relation to a pre-existing literary cosmopolis apply to East Asia? He himself suggests it does not, but the question is not a simple one. Vernacularization in his specific sense means that local spoken languages become written media for literary expression and the assertion of political power, and then supplant the cosmopolitan register on which they were modeled. In order to evaluate the applicability of this concept to pre- and early modern China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, three issues must be considered: the relationship between their local languages and writing, the emergence of specifically literary texts written in those languages, and the degree to which the Literary Sinitic cosmopolitan was supplanted before the modern period. Pollock is right to be skeptical of “full” vernacularization in East Asia, but by considering the applicability of his model to the region we sharpen our sense of the distinctive elements in its history, and we also discover ways to revise or expand the model itself.