A Brief Summary of Recent Taiwanese Scholarship on Song Political and Intellectual History

Abstract

Over the past sixty years, research on the Song dynasty has been one of the strengths of Taiwanese historical scholarship. Building on the pioneering accomplishments of scholars such as Ch’ien Mu 錢穆, Chin Chung-shu 金中 樞 and Sung Hsi 宋晞, current generations of Song specialists in Taiwan have made significant contributions to our understanding of this pivotal period in Chinese history. In this bibliographical report, I will review recent Taiwanese scholarship on the political and intellectual history of the Song. Due to spatial constraints and the large body of relevant material, I have decided to limit the scope of this review to monographs published within the last five years and articles published in top-tier academic journals between 2015 and 2017.1 In addition, I will only include the studies of scholars who either hold, or who have recently retired from, an academic position at a university or research institute in Taiwan. Before delving into this body of scholarship, it is important to note that the vitality of Song studies in Taiwan is due in no small part to the atmosphere of collegiality and cooperation that exists among its scholarly community. Over the past several years, there have been numerous conferences and workshops on topics that have either focused, or touched upon, the Song dynasty. They