| Powerful Relations: Kinship, Status, and the State in Sung China (960-1279) Contributor(s): Bossler, Beverly (Author) |
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ISBN: 0674695925 ISBN-13: 9780674695924 Publisher: Harvard University Press OUR PRICE: $47.03 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: April 1998 Annotation: The realignment of the Chinese social order that took place over the course of the Sung dynasty set the pattern for Chinese society throughout most of the later imperial era. This study examines that realignment from the perspective of specific Sung families, using data on two groups of Sung elites--the grand councilors who led the bureaucracy and locally prominent gentlemen in Wu-chou (in modern Chekiang). By analyzing kinship relationships, Bossler demonstrates the importance of family relations to the establishment and perpetuation of social status locally and in the capital. She shows how social position was measured and acted upon, how status shaped personal relationships (and vice versa), and how both status and personal relationships conditioned--and were conditioned by--political success. Finally, in a contribution to the ongoing discussion of localism in the Sung, Bossler details the varied networks that connected the local elite to the capital and elsewhere. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Asia - China - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - Social Science | Sociology - Marriage & Family |
| Dewey: 306.095 |
| LCCN: 97027130 |
| Series: Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph |
| Physical Information: 1.1" H x 6.36" W x 9.37" (1.57 lbs) 384 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) - Cultural Region - Chinese - Ethnic Orientation - Asian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The realignment of the Chinese social order that took place over the course of the Sung dynasty set the pattern for Chinese society throughout most of the later imperial era. This study examines that realignment from the perspective of specific Sung families, using data on two groups of Sung elites--the grand councilors who led the bureaucracy and locally prominent gentlemen in Wu-chou (in modern Chekiang). By analyzing kinship relationships, Bossler demonstrates the importance of family relations to the establishment and perpetuation of social status locally and in the capital. She shows how social position was measured and acted upon, how status shaped personal relationships (and vice versa), and how both status and personal relationships conditioned--and were conditioned by--political success. Finally, in a contribution to the ongoing discussion of localism in the Sung, Bossler details the varied networks that connected the local elite to the capital and elsewhere. |
Contributor Bio(s): Bossler, Beverly: - Beverly Bossler is Professor of History at the University of California, Davis. |