Structures of Governance in Song Dynasty China, 960–1279 CE

Charles Hartman presents an ambitious analysis of the workings of governance in Imperial China centered on the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Here he develops a new model for thinking about the deeper structures of governance in Song and pre-imperial China – the 'technocratic–Confucian continuum' – which challenges the prevailing perception of Confucian political dominance and offers a vehicle for expanding the definition and scope of Song political culture to embrace all its actors. Building on his acclaimed work The Making of Song Dynasty History: Sources and Narratives, 960–1279 CE (2021), this richly detailed exploration of the Song court is of significance beyond the immediate period of study both in rethinking the nature of monarchy in China and in examining the constructive possibility of political dissent.

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'In Structures of Governance, Charles Hartman provides a radically new interpretation of Song dynasty political culture. Building on decades of meticulous work in Song historical sources, Hartman argues persuasively that Song governance was not controlled by men who espoused Confucian rule, as the conventional picture would have it, but rather by their political enemies. Hartman brilliantly lays out the mechanisms by which those enemies - palace women, eunuchs, ‘petty’ technocrats and ‘nefarious ministers’ - were able to dominate Song political life. The result is a breathtakingly transformed understanding of the functioning of the Song state, one that every student of the Song - and of Chinese history more broadly - will need to take into account.' Beverly Bossler, Brown University

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Product details

• Date Published: April 2023
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9781009235648
• length: 400 pages

• dimensions: 235 x 158 x 31 mm
• weight: 0.81kg
• availability: Available