Böcker av Peter K. Bol

The first intellectual history of Song, Yuan, and Ming China written from a local perspective, Localizing Learning traces how debates over the relative value of cultural accomplishment and political service unfolded locally. Close readings and quantitative analysis of social networks consider why and how the local literati enterprise was built.

Where does Neo-Confucianism fit into the story of China's history? This book argues that as Neo-Confucians put their philosophy of learning into practice in local society, they justified a social ideal in which society at the local level was led by the literati with state recognition and support.