The Age of Confucian Rule

1 Review

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  I must admit when I put this book on my wish list I hadn't paid very close attention. I thought it was going to be a scholarly, intellectual history particularly on the rise of neo-Confucianism in the Song dynasty. What it actually is, is a general history of the Song. The first half covers the poli ... (continue)

  I must admit when I put this book on my wish list I hadn't paid very close attention. I thought it was going to be a scholarly, intellectual history particularly on the rise of neo-Confucianism in the Song dynasty. What it actually is, is a general history of the Song. The first half covers the political and military history of the dynasty (including the foreign dynasties in the North) and the second half is more of a social and economic history on different aspects of the dynasty. As such it wasn't all that useful for me, but is probably a good introduction to the dynasty, though not as interestingly written as Everyday life in China at the eve of the Mongol invasion.

  There is a little about printing (40-43)and the examination system that might be useful for my dissertation, but mostly for a general description on how the examination system works (3).

  There was an interesting couple of paragraphs about one of the Khitan Empresses who led warriors into battle and defied tradition instead of following her husband to the grave she tried to rule the Liao, cutting off her own hand and placing it in the tomb (23).

  In the discussion of religion what seems to be the author's prejudice against Taoism shows. He dismisses Taoist religious ceremonies as "theatre" and talks only about how Confucianism and Buddhism interact in the political arena which I thought was most disappointing (118-9)

  166-167 discusses the most famous Song woman poet, Li Qingzhao which I found very interesting. 234 starts an interesting look at the printing of paper currency and the related problems of its use.

  This book is a good general introduction to the dynasty, it combines social and political history. But overall I found the style to be a bit dull and uninspiring. Still I think it was worth reading, and will be a good reference.

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  Robot-mel said on Jul 24, 2010 | Add your feedback

Book Details

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• English Books
• Hardcover 448 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0674031466
• ISBN-13: 9780674031463
• Publisher: Belknap Press
• Pub date: Dec 15, 2008

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