The Song-Yuan-Ming transition in Chinese history / Paul Jakov Smith and Richard von Glahn, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Smith, Paul Jakov, 1947-

Von Glahn, Richard.

Series:

Harvard East Asian Monographs ; 221.

Harvard East Asian Monographs ; 221

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

China--Civilization--960-1644.

China.

China--Social conditions--960-1644.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

Leiden; Boston : BRILL, 2003.

Place of Publication:

Boston : Harvard University Asia Center, 2003.

Summary:

This volume seeks to study the connections between two well-studied epochs in Chinese history: the mid-imperial era of the Tang and Song (ca. 800-1270) and the late imperial era of the late Ming and Qing (1550-1900). Both eras are seen as periods of explosive change, particularly in economic activity, characterized by the emergence of new forms of social organization and a dramatic expansion in knowledge and culture. The task of establishing links between these two periods has been impeded by a lack of knowledge of the intervening Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). This historiographical "black hole" has artificially interrupted the narrative of Chinese history and bifurcated it into two distinct epochs. This book aims to restore continuity to that historical narrative by filling the gap between mid-imperial and late imperial China. The contributors argue that the Song-Yuan-Ming transition (early twelfth through the late fifteenth century) constitutes a distinct historical period of transition and not one of interruption and devolution. They trace this transition by investigating such subjects as contemporary impressions of the period, the role of the Mongols in intellectual life, the economy of Jiangnan, urban growth, neo-Confucianism and local society, commercial publishing, comic drama, and medical learning.

Contents:

Preliminary Material / Paul Jakov Smith and Richard von Glahn

Problematizing the Song-Yuan-Ming Transition / Paul Jakov Smith

Imagining Pre-modern China / Richard von Glahn

Impressions of the Song-Yuan-Ming Transition: The Evidence from Biji Memoirs / Paul Jakov Smith

Did the Mongols Matter? Territory, Power, and the Intelligentsia in China from the Northern Song to the Early Ming / John W. Dardess

Was There a 'Fourteenth-Century Turning Point'? Population, Land, Technology, and Farm Management / Li Bozhong

Towns and Temples: Urban Growth and Decline in the Yangzi Delta, 1100-1400 / Richard von Glahn

Women and Confucianism from Song to Ming: The Institutionalization of Patrilineality / Bettine Birge

Neo-Confucianism and Local Society, Twelfth to Sixteenth Century: A Case Study / Peter K. Bol

Mashaben: Commercial Publishing in Jianyang from the Song to the Ming / Lucille Chia

Text and Ideology: Ming Editors and Northern Drama / Stephen H. West

Medical Learning from the Song to the Ming / Angela Ki-che Leung

Notes / Paul Jakov Smith and Richard von Glahn

Works Cited / Paul Jakov Smith and Richard von Glahn

Index / Paul Jakov Smith and Richard von Glahn

Harvard East Asian Monographs / Paul Jakov Smith and Richard von Glahn.

Notes:

Includes papers presented at Lake Arrowhead conference, held June 5-11, 1997 at UCLA Conference Center.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [469]-512) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-68417-381-7

OCLC:

1083441303

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9781684173815 DOI