Witchcraft and the Rise of the First Confucian Empire (SUNY series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture)

This document, which is intended as a handbook for individuals who have been appointed to positions in United States (U.S.) governments, is a lengthy essay on understanding and fulfilling the responsibilities associated with accepting a position of leadership. The following are among the topics discussed in chapters 1-6: (1) joining the "governing class" (definition of the term "governing class," the U.S. system of government, the academic view, types of "inners" and "outers," the ethics of influence); (2) becoming and being a leader (selecting a political party, being political, demonstrating loyalty); (3) team building (B and A teams, subcabinets); (4) making policy (the budget process, the "planning-programming-budgeting" system, where new ideas originate); (5) policy implementation (implementation as exploration, advice for policy managers, strategies that work, and accountability); and (6) dealing with the media. Chapter 7 contains the following suggestions for appointed government officials: (1) remember that leaders are role models; (2) care about partnership; (3) always remember the hyperpluralism of the U.S. government and the great barrier reef of federalism, which can wreck voyages to accomplishment; (4) cultivate the press; (5) be careful about confidences; (6) be careful about jokes; (7) pace yourself; (8) be consistent; and (9) think about your future. (MN) Finalist for the 2015 Best First Book in the History of Religions presented by the American Academy of Religion Winner of the 2014 Academic Award for Excellence presented by Chinese Historians in the United States When did Confucianism become the reigning political ideology of imperial China? A pervasive narrative holds it was during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (141–87 BCE). In this book, Liang Cai maintains that such a date would have been too early and provides a new account of this transformation. A hidden narrative in Sima Qian's The Grand Scribe's Records (Shi ji) shows that Confucians were a powerless minority in the political realm of this period. Cai argues that the notorious witchcraft scandal of 91–87 BCE reshuffled the power structure of the Western Han bureaucracy and provided Confucians an opportune moment to seize power, evolve into a new elite class, and set the tenor of political discourse for centuries to come. "Contests long-standing claims that Confucianism came to prominence under China's Emperor Wu"--Provided by publisher.