Dear colleagues and friends,
Hope you are doing well.
Here's some good news from our own Charles Hartman, whose new book *The
Making of Song Dynasty History: Sources and Narratives, 960-1279 CE *just
came out yesterday! Below please find his brief introduction to the book.
Congratulations, Dr. Hartman!

I am pleased to announce to the members of the Society for Song, Yuan, and
Conquest Dynasties Studies the publication of my book, The Making of Song
Dynasty History: Sources and Narratives, 960-1279 CE. The first half of
the work studies the primary sources that survive today as vestiges of
official Song historiography and shows how the cumulative influence of Sung
political struggle shaped this historical corpus. In particular, I
emphasize the impact of thirteenth century daoxue on the surviving
historical record. “Sources” concludes with an examination of the Song
History (Songshi 宋史) of 1345 as the culmination of these forces plus the
influence of political tension in Yuan between Mongol nativism and the
re-emergence of a Zhu Xi-centered daoxue after the return of the
examinations in 1315.

The second half of the work, “Narratives” examines the development of the
themes and narratives that the works examined in “Sources” display. This
section explains how rhetorical stances developed for use in Song political
discourse and policy debates shaped the historical narratives we find
articulated with increasing clarity as the dynasty progressed and that
culminate in the Song History. Some readers have described this section
as gently deconstructionist, a characterization I would not deny. Although
I utilize the methodology of traditional sinology, my emphasis on
historical texts as created literary artifacts indeed shares some affinity
with post-modern historiographical theory.

I have written this book not only for historians but for all of us who work
in middle period Chinese “culture,” broadly defined, and who seek to
integrate better historiographical precision into the design and execution
of their research agendas.

You may find a link to the Cambridge University Press website and
additional information here:

https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/east-asian-history/making-song-dynasty-history-sources-and-narratives-9601279-ce?format=HB

Take care,

Charles Hartman

The University at Albany

Yours sincerely,
Ya Zuo

Charles,
This is a major contribution to the field. Wonderful to see that it is now in print and available. Congratulations.
Best to you,
hoyt

From: Listserv listserv-bounces@mail.songyuan.org On Behalf Of Ya Zuo
Sent: Friday, October 9, 2020 3:26 PM
To: listserv@mail.songyuan.org
Subject: [Song-Yuan Listserv] New book by Charles Hartman

Dear colleagues and friends,
Hope you are doing well.
Here's some good news from our own Charles Hartman, whose new book The Making of Song Dynasty History: Sources and Narratives, 960-1279 CE just came out yesterday! Below please find his brief introduction to the book. Congratulations, Dr. Hartman!

I am pleased to announce to the members of the Society for Song, Yuan, and Conquest Dynasties Studies the publication of my book, The Making of Song Dynasty History: Sources and Narratives, 960-1279 CE. The first half of the work studies the primary sources that survive today as vestiges of official Song historiography and shows how the cumulative influence of Sung political struggle shaped this historical corpus. In particular, I emphasize the impact of thirteenth century daoxue on the surviving historical record. “Sources” concludes with an examination of the Song History (Songshi 宋史) of 1345 as the culmination of these forces plus the influence of political tension in Yuan between Mongol nativism and the re-emergence of a Zhu Xi-centered daoxue after the return of the examinations in 1315.
The second half of the work, “Narratives” examines the development of the themes and narratives that the works examined in “Sources” display. This section explains how rhetorical stances developed for use in Song political discourse and policy debates shaped the historical narratives we find articulated with increasing clarity as the dynasty progressed and that culminate in the Song History. Some readers have described this section as gently deconstructionist, a characterization I would not deny. Although I utilize the methodology of traditional sinology, my emphasis on historical texts as created literary artifacts indeed shares some affinity with post-modern historiographical theory.
I have written this book not only for historians but for all of us who work in middle period Chinese “culture,” broadly defined, and who seek to integrate better historiographical precision into the design and execution of their research agendas.
You may find a link to the Cambridge University Press website and additional information here:
https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/east-asian-history/making-song-dynasty-history-sources-and-narratives-9601279-ce?format=HBhttps://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cambridge.org_us_academic_subjects_history_east-2Dasian-2Dhistory_making-2Dsong-2Ddynasty-2Dhistory-2Dsources-2Dand-2Dnarratives-2D9601279-2Dce-3Fformat-3DHB&d=DwMFaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=6-9ZuyI2YuobOxhkXvyB6VDn23ZsUt0WdFSoMhF3JPA&m=URrSme2hdnX-wx8_z4Pl7aQK1jHv5XKQyhbT4wWcfQc&s=qgvmTDxaP8UC0cDP84FQSGtPdIvIkOgiheDRJgFOo1k&e=
Take care,
Charles Hartman
The University at Albany

Yours sincerely,
Ya Zuo