Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China

Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China demonstrates the utility of drawing theoretical models and insights from the diverse body of literature and subfields that constitute the academic study of religion. It shows us how to think about historical phenomena and the rich intersections of the political and religious, of the social and personal, of the living and the dead. And by invoking the concept of l'imaginaire (the 'social imaginary') in order to disclose the social and political stakes involved in officially sanctioned funerary practices, Choi also gives us a model for thinking productively about historical subjectivities. --Geoffrey C. Goble, Reading Religion Choi demonstrates an impressive command over a wide range of original sources and draws on a substantial body of secondary studies as well as theoretical literature to produce a book that is a must for students of imperial China. It will also instruct comparative scholars as well as all China specialists, and serve as a model for aspiring students Essential. --CHOICE In this fascinating and important study, Mihwa Choi gives us an in-depth look at debates over ritual in the critical Northern Song period. We observe well-known figures such as Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, and Su Shi, engaging in lively discussions about ritual's connection to imperial power, death, burial, and the supernatural. This book is essential reading for those interested in the history of Song China and of ritual generally. --Norman Alan Kutcher, author of Mourning in Late Imperial China: Filial Piety and the State Late imperial Confucian culture took shape in the eleventh century, and Choi's richly detailed study shows how scholar-officials in debates on imperial ritual and burial practices worked out what it meant to be 'Confucian,' in their time and for centuries later. Drawing from court debates, archaeological reports, tales from the afterlife, and prescriptive family manuals, Choi illustrates that this multifarious discourse affected the highest and humblest members of society alike. --Mark Halperin, Associate Professor, University of California Davis We assume that the Northern Song (960-1127) state was Confucian in outlook and largely concerned with secular matters. Mihwa Choi, on the contrary, expertly demonstrates that religious concerns played a key role in the era's history and that Confucianism only prevailed through the efforts of officials who argued that the emperors' ritual practice had to be grounded on the Classics. --Keith N. Knapp, author of Selfless Offspring: Filial Children and Social Order in Medieval China