Wind Against the Mountain: The Crisis of Politics and Culture in Thirteenth-Century China

Description

Richard Davis has expertly crafted a stirring narrative of the last years of Song, focusing on loyalist resistance to Mongol domination as more than just a political event. Davis convincingly argues that Song martyrs were dying for more than dynasty alone: martyrdom can be linked to other powerfully compelling symbols as well. Seen from the perspective of the conquered, the phenomenon of martyrdom reveals much about the cultural history of the Song. Davis challenges the traditional view of Song martyrdom as a simple expression of political duty by examining the phenomenon instead from the perspective of material life and masculine identity. He also explores the tensions between the outer court of militant radicals and an inner court run by female regents--tensions that reflect the broader split between factions of Song government as well as societal conflict. Davis reveals the true magnitude of the loyalist phenomenon in this beautifully written, fascinating study of Song political loyalty and cultural values. Wind Against the Mountain: The Crisis of Politics and Culture in Thirteenth-Century China Contents Preface 1 SHI: THE ARMY AT SEA Making Sense of Insanity Exorcising Demons Old and New 2 GU: DECAYED AND VOLATILE The Ladies in Waiting As for the Craftless Caretaker Alas, the Wind Shifts 3 GOU: GATHERING UNPROPITIOUSLY Activist Revelry in the Academy Militants Alienating the Military Fortitude at the Front Literati in Waiting 4 KUN: THE DESPERATE DEEDS Autumn's Grim Harvest A Discomfitting Diplomatic Corner Dynasty Divided Cleavages of Gender and Class Academe in Paralysis 5 ZHEN OF MEN AROUSED Material Man of the South Marketing an Alien Virility Visualizing the Present through the Past The Fugitive Hero 6 GUIMEI: AND THEIR BETROTHED The Profile ofLoyalist Suicides Loyalist Literature as a Mirror on Gender Relations Appendices List of Abbreviations Used in the Appendices APPENDIX A Southern Song Emperors and Empresses APPENDIXB Chronology of Events for the Thirteenth Century APPENDIXC List of Loyalist Suicides for the Late Song Notes Notes List of Works Cited Glossary Index HARVARD-YENCHING INSTITUTE MONOGRAPH SERIES