'Dividing the Realm in Order to Govern': The Spatial Organization of the Song State (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series)
By Ruth Mostern.
Description
States are inherently and fundamentally geographical. Sovereignty is based on control of territory. This book uses Song China to explain how a pre-industrial regime organized itself spatially in order to exercise authority. On more than a thousand occasions, the Song court founded, abolished, promoted, demoted, and reordered jurisdictions in an attempt to maximize the effectiveness of limited resources in a climate of shifting priorities, to placate competing constituencies, and to address military and economic crises. Spatial transformations in the Song field administration changed the ge...
ISBN(s)
0674056027, 9780674056022
