Politics and Conservatism in Northern Song China: The Career and Thought of Sima Guang (A.D. 1019-1086) (review)

Xiao-bin Ji's book on Sima Guang contributes to the wealth of studies we have on Song individuals and the way that historians can use the lives of famous figures to illustrate larger points about the societies in which they lived. Rather than falling into the "great man" school of biography that attributes decisive shifts in history to the willpower of individual giants, Dr. Ji's work details the manner in which Sima served as a loyal official to the Song imperial family and was, in turn, used by them to bolster the position of the ruler over the government. As Ji writes, "It is my hope that, in the broader context of Song history, this will contribute to a more dynamic picture of Song court politics. This book explains Sima Guang's career in the context not only of his conservatism, but also of the external factors of his political environment" (p. 19). Main themes concern the persuasive power, even in opposition, of Sima Guang's conservatism; the pattern by which Emperors Yingzong and Shenzong went from weak new emperors dependent on the experience of long-serving officials to self-confident holders of the reigns of power; and the shift during Shenzong's reign from the emperor as aloof arbiter between competing groups of officials to advocate and overseer of policy decisions.

Ji's work draws upon a wide range of primary and secondary materials, mainly in Chinese and English. The translations are clear and accurate. Noting that much scholarship has been devoted to Sima's historical magnum opus Zizhi tongjian (Comprehensive mirror to aid in government), Ji runs through the historiography on that work, but notes that the Zizhi tongjian will be employed in the present work solely in terms of what it reveals of Sima Guang's political thought. However, Ji does introduce the recent work of Hoyt C. Tillman, which suggests that "Sima Guang sometimes intentionally composed accounts that his sources did not fully support. By occasionally doctoring the historical facts presented in the sources, Sima was able to construct his own historical view in a more compelling and imaginative way" (p. 8). While noting that this thesis is contentious, Ji writes that it "cannot be dismissed out of hand" (p. 9).

Ji argues that Sima Guang's conservatism had two key characteristics: "a reverence for the cumulative wisdom from the past and a concern for preserving the fruits of past achievements" (p. 2). This conservatism is captured in Sima's analogy that "Governing all under Heaven is like living in a house. If it has become worn out, then one repairs it. One does not [tear it down] and rebuild unless it is greatly damaged" (p. 145). Given that the history of the "house" was important in making decisions about its preservation, it is not surprising that Sima Guang's use of the past as a guide to the present has been described by Robert Hartwell as historical analogism.¹ As Ji restates the approach, historical analogism "presupposed that the person being persuaded believed that one could learn lessons relevant to the present condition by examining analogous situations in the past. The fact that Sima sometimes succeeded demonstrates that at least some of his contemporaries shared this presupposition" (p. 37). The crux of Hartwell's argument is that the prevalence of historical analogism prevented the Chinese from developing creative, hypothetical skills to theorize about their world.² In part, Hartwell blames this on the "classified histories" that tried to derive applicable universal principles from diverse phenomena. This inability to use hypothetical-deductive reasoning led to a lack of analytical skills. Hartwell specifically uses economic analysis to prove his point.³ Ji's book perhaps helps support Hartwell's point. Ji notes that Sima Guang was brought...