Ordering the World: Approaches to State and Society in Sung Dynasty China

The Sung Dynasty (960–1278) was a time of vast changes and new challenges in China. The growth of the urban and rural economics, population increase, the emergence of an educated elite, political and intellectual ferment, and threats from hostile neighbors are some of the forces that shaped the age. How did Sung statesmen and thinkers view the relation of state and society and the role of political action in solving society’s ills? The essays in Ordering the World explore contemporary ideas...