Overview

In traditional China, a funeral and the accompanying death rituals represented a critical moment for the immediate family of the deceased to show their filial piety, a core value of the society. At the same time, death rituals were social occasions, and channels for the outward demonstration of belief in a religiously pluralistic society. During the Northern Song period, however, death rituals increasingly became an arena for political contention as attempts were made to transform these practices from a private matter into one subject to state control.Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China examines how political confrontations over the proper conduct of death rituals during Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) inaugurated a period of Confucian revivalism. Mihwa Choi interprets Northern Song court politics, family ritual practices, burial practices, and the popular imagination of the afterlife as sites of contest between groups of varying social status, political vision, and religious belief. She demonstrates that the oversight of ritual affairs by scholar-officials helped them gain the political upper hand they sought, and, more broadly, fostered a revival of Confucianism as the dominant value system of Chinese society in the period that followed.

Full Product Details

Author:   Mihwa Choi (Lecturer, Lecturer, Chapman University)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 23.60cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 15.50cm
Weight:   0.476kg
ISBN:  

9780190459765

ISBN 10:   019045976
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   16 November 2017
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I - The Adaptation of Ancestral Ritual to Serve the Royal Imaginary CHAPTER II - How Does Heaven Come to Speak : The Contesting Discourse and the Revival of Confucian Death Rituals CHAPTER III - Ordering Society through Confucian Rituals CHAPTER IV - Offering for Saving of the Souls CHAPTER V - Social Imaginaries and Politics in the Narratives on the World-beyond and the Supernatural CHAPTER VI - Burial: A Contested Site for Social Imaginaries CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRPAHY

Reviews

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

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

Author Information

Mihwa Choi received her Ph.D. from University of Chicago. Her research probes the role of religion in shaping the cultural, social, and political landscapes of China and Korea. Her articles have appeared in Asia Major, the Journal of Daoist Studies, the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the Seoul Journal of Korean Studies.

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