530: Responses to War and Conquest in Middle Period China (916-1368): Emotion, Ideology, Politics, and Practice

Organizer(s)

• TW

  Ting Cheung Wong (he/him/his)

  Binghamton University, SUNY, United States

Chair(s)

• LW

  Linda Walton

  Portland State University, United States

Paper Presenter(s)

• TW

  Ting Cheung Wong (he/him/his)

  Binghamton University, SUNY, United States
• 

  Qian Zhan (she/her/hers)

  Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Germany
• WQ

  Wuliang Qu (he/him/his)

  Tsinghua University, China
• RZ

  Ruixue Zhou (she/her/hers)

  University of California, Santa Barbara, United States

Discussant(s)

• PB

  Peter Bol (he/him/his)

  Harvard University, United States

This multidisciplinary panel investigates the impact of changes in emotion, and ideology during an age of upheaval through the lenses of state politics, diplomacy and literary and visual culture. We argue that the approaches of emotion and ideology offer new perspectives on the intersection of intellectual and political history, diplomacy and the culture of war and conquest. Our panel addresses two key questions: (1) How did Han elites respond to invasion and conquest? (2) In what ways did emotional and intellectual frameworks shape the relationship between Han elites and non-Han ethnic groups?

Zhou demonstrates that variant forms of sworn kinship and intermarriage practices were adopted by the Liao, Song and Tangut empires, while at the same time they also adhered to emperor-subject relationships. Wong’s analysis focuses on the earliest Song refugees from the Jurchen invasion, revealing their complex emotions and lack of interest in revenge. Qu investigates the penetration of Daoxue ideology and practice into the border defense system to show how the reaction of late Southern Song high officials to the Mongol invasions was shaped by changing intellectual and political culture. Zhan examines how Zhao Mengfu, a member of the Song imperial clan who served the Mongols after the conquest, utilized his art to respond to literati criticism through the lens of the history of emotions.

Overall, this panel demonstrates how elucidating changes in emotion and ideology are central to the military, political, and social history of Middle Period China.

Presentations:

• Revenge for the Jingkang Calamity 靖康之難 (1126-1127)? Reinterpreting the Emotional Responses and Motivations of Refugees During the Early Southern Song
  

  Presenting Author: Ting Cheung Wong (he/him/his) – Binghamton University, SUNY
• Emotional Tensions and Visual Responses: Rethinking Zhao Mengfu’s Service to the Yuan
  

  Presenting Author: Qian Zhan (she/her/hers) – Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
• Neo-Confucianism, the Military, and the Mongol Invasions of Song China: The State Councilors Border Defense System
  

  Presenting Author: Wuliang Qu (he/him/his) – Tsinghua University
• Sworn Brotherhood and Emperor-Subject Ties: Emotional Contexts of Liao-Song Diplomacy
  

  Presenting Author: Ruixue Zhou (she/her/hers) – University of California, Santa Barbara