This book addresses the politics of higher education in Imperial China during the Northern Song period (960-1127). How did different political agents -- namely emperors, scholar-officials, teachers and students -- interact in shaping the Imperial University and compete over different agendas? Earlier studies often conceived the Imperial University as a static institution and framed questions within the context of institutional and social history. Building on recent insights/developments in new political history, this book is distinctive for its emphasis on the fluid political processes shaping ... More

This book addresses the politics of higher education in Imperial China during the Northern Song period (960-1127). How did different political agents -- namely emperors, scholar-officials, teachers and students -- interact in shaping the Imperial University and compete over different agendas? Earlier studies often conceived the Imperial University as a static institution and framed questions within the context of institutional and social history. Building on recent insights/developments in new political history, this book is distinctive for its emphasis on the fluid political processes shaping institutional changes and the interaction of the people involved. Based on a close reading of the surviving records of court archives, chronological accounts and biographical materials of individual agents, the author shows the agendas behind the structures and regulations of the Imperial University and the ways in which they actually functioned, among them the assertion of autocratic rule, the elimination of political opposition, and the imposition of strict morality. Competitions and negotiations over these agenda, the author proposes, lead to changes in educational policies, which did not occur in a linear or progressive fashion, but rather back-and-forth due to ongoing resistance.