Imperial Rulership and Cultural Change in Traditional China

This volume examines the role of dynastic rulers, the imperial system, and the ruling literati in the promotion and shaping of Chinese thought and culture. It includes ten papers chosen for publication from a conference held in Taiwan in September 1992: Determining Orthodoxy: Imperial Roles by Jack L. Dull; Ssu-ma Ch'ien’s Portrayal of the First Ch'in Emperor by Stephan Durrant; The Literary Emperor: The Case of Han Wu-ti by David R. Knechtges; Empress Wu and Feminist Sentiments in T'ang China by Chen Jo-shui; Academies: Official Sponsorship and Suppression by Thomas H. C. Lee; Imperial Power and The Reestablishment of Monastic Order in the Northern Sung by Huang Chi-chiang; Imperial Rulership in Cultural History: Chu Hsi’s Interpretation by Huang Chun-chieh; The Emperor and the Star Spirits: A Mythological Reading of the Shui-hu chuan by Frederick P. Brandeur; Ku Yen-wu’s Image and Ideal of the Emperor: A Cultural Giant and Political Dwarf by Ku Wei-ying; and Imperial Power and the Appointment of Provincial Governors in Ch'ing China by R. Kent Guy.

It will be of interest to students of Chinese culture including literature, art, religion, philosophy, and politics.