Ordering the World: Approaches to State and Society in Sung Dynasty China (Studies on China, No 16)

These essays examine the relation of society and the state or, more broadly, the place of political action in society and in the history of Sung China. Connections between intellectual change and sociopolitical change are a consistent focus; attitudes toward history and problems of authority are a recurrent concern. The authors suggest new kinds of continuity between the disparate intellectual worlds of Northern and Southern Sung China. Their findings have important implications for our understanding of the neo-Confucian movement in Sung history and of the Sung in the history of Chinese ideas about politics and social action. Su Hsun's Pragmatic Statecraft / George Hatch -- State Power And Economic Activism During The New Policies, 1068-1085 : The Tea And Horse Trade And The Green Sprouts Loan Policy / Paul J. Smith -- Government, Society, And State : On The Political Visions Of Ssu-ma Kuang And Wang An-shih / Peter K. Bol -- Chu Hsi's Sense Of History / Conrad Schirokauer -- Community And Welfare : Chu Hsi's Community Granary In Theory And Practice / Richard Von Glahn -- Charitable Estates As An Aspect Of Statecraft In Southern Sung China / Linda Walton -- Moral Duty And Self-regulating Process In Southern Sung Views Of Famine Relief / Robert P. Hymes -- The Historian As Critic : Li Hsin-ch'uan And The Dilemmas Of Statecraft In Southern Sung China / John W. Chaffee -- Wei Liao-weng's Thwarted Statecraft / James T.c. Liu -- Chen Te-hsiu And Statecraft / Wm. Theodore De Bary. Edited By Robert P. Hymes And Conrad Schirokauer. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. These essays examine the relationship between society and the state in Sung Dynasty China. The contributors' findings have implications for our understanding of the neo-Confucian movement and of the history of Chinese ideas concerning politics and social action.