Transformative Journeys : Travel and Culture in Song China

During the Song (960-1279), all educated Chinese men traveled frequently, journeying long distances to attend school and take civil service examinations. They crisscrossed the country to assume government posts, report back to the capital, and return home between assignments and to attend to family matters. Based on a wide array of texts, __Transformative Journeys__ analyzes the impact of travel on this group of elite men and the places they visited. In the first part of the book, Cong Ellen Zhang considers the practical aspects of travel during the Song in the context of state mobilization of and assistance to government travelers, including the infrastructure of waterways and highways, the bureaucratic procedures entailed in official travel, and the means of transport and types of lodging. The second part of the book focuses on elite activities on the road, especially the elaborate farewell banquets, welcoming ceremonies, and visits to famous places. Zhang argues convincingly that abundant travel experience became integral to Song elite identity and status, greatly strengthening the social and cultural coherence of the practitioners. In promoting their experience of traveling across a large empire, Song elite men firmly established their position as the country’s political, social, and cultural leaders. The literary compositions and physical traces they left behind also formed an overlapping web of collective memories, continually enhancing local pride and defining the place of various localities in the cultural geography of the country. __Transformative Journeys__ sheds new light on the nature of Chinese literati, their dominance of culture and society, and China’s social and cultural integration. Those interested in premodern China and travel literature will find a wealth of material previously unavailable to Western readers.

This volume charts a course through never-before-surveyed historical territory: Japan's medieval population, a topic so challenging that neither Japanese nor foreign scholars have investigated it in a comprehensive way. And yet, demography is an invaluable approach to the past because it provides a way to study the mass of people who did not belong to the political or religious elite. By synthesizing a vast cache of primary and secondary sources, William Wayne Farris constructs an important analysis of Japan’s population from 1150 to 1600 and considers social and economic developments that were life and death issues for ordinary Japanese. Impressive in his grasp of detail and the scope of his inquiry, Farris makes the argument that, although this age initially witnessed the continuation of a centuries-old demographic stasis, a far-reaching transformation began around 1280 and eventually gained momentum until it swept through the Japanese archipelago. Between 1280 and 1600, Japan's population approximately trebled, growing from 6 million to 17 million. Crucial to the demographic breakthrough was the resolution of two central problems facing both the rulers and the ruled. The first was how to supply a burgeoning population with sufficient food; the second, how to keep the peace.

Japan's Medieval Population will be required reading for specialists in pre-modern Japanese history, who will appreciate it not only for its thought-provoking arguments, but also for its methodology and use of sources.

Contents Acknowledgments Notes on Conventions Weights and Measures Introduction: Travel, Culture, and the Song Literati Chapter 1. A Transient Life: Travel and the Song Literati Chapter 2. The Infrastructure of Travel: Water Routes and Official Highways Chapter 3. Readying for Departure: Paperwork and Procedures Chapter 4. Government Assistance for Official Travel: Porter-Guards, Means of Transport, and Lodging Chapter 5. Rituals of Departure: Farewell Parties Chapter 6. Travelers and Their Local Hosts: Receptions, Entertainment, and Their Cost Chapter 7. Sightseeing and Site Making: Visiting and Inscribing Places Chapter 8. Elite Travel, Famous Sites, and Local History: Huangzhou after Su Shi’s Time Epilogue: The Native, the Local, and the Empire Abbreviations Notes Glossary References Index About the Author During the Song (960-1279), all educated Chinese men travelled frequently, journeying long distances to attend school and take civil service examinations. This work analyzes the impact of travel on this group of elite men and the places they visited. In so doing it sheds new light on the nature of Chinese literati, their dominance of culture and society, and China's social and cultural integration