ENGLISH

State Power in China, 900-1325

By Patricia Buckley Ebrey , Paul Jakov Smith

Book information

Publisher
University of Washington Press
Year
2016
ISBN
0295998105, 9780295998107
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
9 MB (9423596 bytes)
Pages
372\375
Topic
History
Time added
2021-07-24 19:36:03

Description

This collection provides new ways to understand how state power was exercised during the overlapping Liao, Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. Through a set of case studies, State Power in China, 900-1325 examines large questions concerning dynastic legitimacy, factional strife, the relationship between the literati and the state, and the value of centralization. How was state power exercised? Why did factional strife periodically become ferocious? Which problems did reformers seek to address? Could subordinate groups resist the state? How did politics shape the sources that survive? The nine essays in this volume explore key elements of state power, ranging from armies, taxes, and imperial patronage to factional struggles, officials' personal networks, and ways to secure control of conquered territory. Drawing on new sources, research methods, and historical perspectives, the contributors illuminate the institutional side of state power while confronting evidence of instability and change―of ways to gain, lose, or exercise power.

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