The Cambridge History of China, Volume 5, Part 1: The Sung Dynasty and its Precursors, 907-1279

Cambridge History of China #6

by Denis C. Twitchett (Editor), Paul Jakov Smith (Editor)

This first of two volumes on the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) and its Five Dynasties and Southern Kingdoms precursors presents the political history of China from the fall of the T'ang Dynasty in 907 to the Mongol conquest of the Southern Sung in 1279. Its twelve chapters survey the personalities and events that marked the rise, consolidation, and demise of the Sung polity during an era of profound social, economic, and intellectual ferment. The authors place particular emphasis on the emergence of a politically conscious literati class during the Sung, characterized by the increasing importance of the examination system early in the dynasty and on the rise of the tao-hsueh (Neo-Confucian) movement toward the end. In addition, they highlight the destabilizing influence of factionalism and ministerial despotism on Sung political culture and the impact of the powerful steppe empires of the Khitan Liao, Tangut Hsi Hsia, Jurchen Chin, and Mongol Y�an on the shape and tempo of Sung dynastic events.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction

1128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2009

About the author

Denis Crispin Twitchett was a British Sinologist and scholar who specialized in Chinese history and greatly expanded the role of Chinese studies in Western intellectual circles.

Reviews

[ShawnLeeZX · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a certain way, politically the Song dynasty after Tang was an aftermath of the state development in the steppe area. Due to the incompatibility between power centralization and military necessity to maintain a forth at the border that is powerful enough to topple the court, Tang led a downward path ever since the An Lu Shan rebellion. The agricultural civilization at the south of the steppe never worked out a solution to the situation. In this sense, I decided to move on to the part 2 of Song Cambridge history, and focus its intellectual development, where a Zhu Xi re-invented Confucianism. Only the first introduction chapter was read.

[Zeitgeist · Rating 4 out of 5]

北方内亚民族一步步蚕食直至鲸吞所有华夏领土（辽从后晋拿到幽云十六州，金灭北宋夺得淮河以北的中原，蒙元灭南宋征服整个中华），这种恐惧贯穿整个明朝，无法再以汉唐的外向开放包容自信与内亚打交道，转向保守封闭内向的文化。终其三百多年宋史，冗官、冗兵等军事积弱的现象始终无法改变，追溯源头，在于要根除杜绝导致唐亡之一的藩镇割据，这也是五代十国各路政权你方唱罢我登场乱象丛生的原因，而开启藩镇割据的，正是安史之乱，这个事件原来可以作为整个中华文明发展轨迹的分水岭。（发现了一处低级错误：第十一章 理宗的统治 1124-1264）