"Key imperial and royal courts - in Han, Tang, and Song dynasty China; medieval and renaissance Europe; and Heian and Muromachi Japan - are examined in this comparative and interdisciplinary volume as loci of power and as entities that establish, influence, or counter the norms of a larger society. Contributions by twelve scholars are organized into sections on the rhetoric of persuasion, taste, communication, gender, and natural nobility. Writing from the perspectives of literature, history, and philosophy, the authors examine the use and purpose of rhetoric in their respective areas."--Jacket.