Description
This is the second of two volumes on the Sung Dynasty, which together provide a comprehensive history of China from the fall of the T'ang Dynasty in 907 to the Mongol conquest of the Southern Sung in 1279. With contributions from leading historians in the field, Volume 5, Part Two paints a complex portrait of a dynasty beset by problems and contradictions, but one which, despite its military and geopolitical weakness, was nevertheless economically powerful, culturally brilliant, socially fluid and the most populous of any empire in global history to that point. In this much anticipated addition to the series, the authors survey key themes across ten chapters, including government, economy, society, religion, and thought to provide an authoritative and topical treatment of a profound and significant period in Chinese history.
Table of Contents
Introduction: reflections on the Sung John Chaffee; 1. Sung government and politics Charles Hartman; 2. The Sung fiscal administration Peter J. Golas; 3. A history of the Sung military Wang Tseng-Yü; 4. Chinese laws and legal systems: five dynasties and Sung Brian Mcknight; 5. Sung education: schools, academies, and examinations John Chaffee; 6. Economic change in China, 960–1279 Joseph P. Mcdermott; 7. China's emergence as a maritime power Angela Schottenhammer; 8. Sung society and social change Robert P. Hymes; 9. Reconceptualizing the order of things in Northern and Southern Sung Peter K. Bol; 10. The rise of the Ttao-hsüeh Confucian fellowship in Southern Sung Hoyt Cleveland Tillman; Bibliography; Index.
