The Discourse of Loss in Song Dynasty Private and Imperial Book Collecting

This article investigates the discourse of loss during the period between the pillaging of the Song Dynasty imperial libraries and the dispersal of private collections in north China in the late 1120s and the rebuilding of the Imperial Library and private collections through the 1140s. It contrasts the different strategies taken by the court and private collectors in managing loss, in developing acquisitions, and in remembering war and peace through collecting.