The Historical World of Zhu Xi (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Yu Yingshi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: This book is a comprehensive study of the cultural and political history of the Song Dynasty, with particular emphasis on the interactive relationship between the two. In terms of the research focus, cultural history centers on the revival and evolution of Confucianism, while political history examines the power structures and operational methods revealed in reform activities. However, in the actual historical process, the development of these two series is fundamentally intertwined and cannot be clearly separated. Both are encompassed within the overall activities of the scholar-officials. The scholar-official class of the Song Dynasty was not only the cultural but also a certain degree of political, at least in terms of the initiative they demonstrated in politics, which surpassed that of the Han, Tang dynasties before them and the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties after them. This is a very prominent feature of the Song Dynasty in Chinese history, and the past historiography has either implicitly or explicitly recognized it. However, according to more rigorous historical standards, we should not be content with abstract conclusions derived from intuition or general impressions. The key task of professional historiography lies in establishing such conclusions on the basis of objectively verifiable historical facts. Therefore, the thinking structures and behavioral patterns of the Song scholar-officials occupy a central position in this study, and the subtitle of the book primarily reflects this.