Just over a thousand years ago, the Song dynasty emerged as the
most advanced civilization on earth. Within two centuries, China
was home to nearly half of all humankind. In this concise history,
we learn why the inventiveness of this era has been favorably
compared with the European Renaissance, which in many ways the Song
transformation surpassed.
With the chaotic dissolution of the Tang dynasty, the old
aristocratic families vanished. A new class of scholar-officials
products of a meritocratic examination system took up the task of
reshaping Chinese tradition by adapting the precepts of
Confucianism to a rapidly changing world. Through fiscal reforms,
these elites liberalized the economy, eased the tax burden, and put
paper money into circulation. Their redesigned capitals buzzed with
traders, while the education system offered advancement to talented
men of modest means. Their rationalist approach led to inventions
in printing, shipbuilding, weaving, ceramics manufacture, mining,
and agriculture. With a realist s eye, they studied the natural
world and applied their observations in art and science. And with
the souls of diplomats, they chose peace over war with the
aggressors on their borders. Yet persistent military threats from
these nomadic tribes which the Chinese scorned as their cultural
inferiors redefined China s understanding of its place in the world
and solidified a sense of what it meant to be Chinese.
"The Age of Confucian Rule" is an essential introduction to
this transformative era. A scholar should congratulate himself that
he has been born in such a time (Zhao Ruyu, 1194).
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