Patronage and community in medieval China : the Xiangyang garrison, 400-600 CE / Andrew Chittick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chittick, Andrew.

Series:

SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture.

SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Patronage, Political--China--Xiangyang Fu--History--To 1500.

Patronage, Political.

Community life--China--Xiangyang Fu--History--To 1500.

Community life.

Social systems--History--To 1500.

Social systems.

Garrisons--China--Xiangyang Fu--History--To 1500.

Garrisons.

Xiangyang Fu (China)--History.

Xiangyang Fu (China).

Xiangyang Fu (China)--Politics and government.

Xiangyang Fu (China)--Social conditions.

Xiangyang Fu (China)--Social life and customs.

Jiankang Fu (China)--History.

Jiankang Fu (China).

China--History--220-589.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (205 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This first book-length treatment of a provincial military society in China's early medieval period offers a vivid portrait of this milieu and invites readers to reevaluate their understanding of a critical period in Chinese history. Drawing on poetry, local history, archaeology, and Buddhist materials, as well as more traditional historical sources, Andrew Chittick explores the culture and interrelationships of the leading figures of the Xiangyang region (in the north of modern Hubei province) in the centuries leading up to the Sui unification. Using the model of patron-client relations to characterize the interactions between local men and representatives of the southern court at Jiankang, the book emphasizes the way in which these interactions were shaped by personal ties and cultural and status differences. The result is a compelling explanation for the shifting, unstable, and violent nature of the political and military system of the southern dynasties. Offering a wider perspective which considers the social world beyond the capital elite, the book challenges earlier conceptions of medieval society as "aristocratic" and rooted in family lineage and officeholding.Andrew Chittick is E. Leslie Peter Associate Professor of East Asian Humanities at Eckerd College.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

List of Maps

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Development, 400–465

Fragmentation, 465–500

Zenith, 500–530

Sublimation, 530–600

Conclusion

Geneaological Charts

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781438428994

1438428995

9781441636157

1441636153

OCLC:

593209638