Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 8, 2023

The Panorama of “All under Heaven” in the Political World of Traditional Chinese Scholar-officials: A Case Study of the “Green Sprouts Policy” Debate in the Northern Song Dynasty

(Abstract)

Luo Yinan

How to deal with differences is a question that any political body must respond to. The “individualist” perspective emphasizes that actors will adopt measures to exclude or even eliminate divergent claims in order to gain control over interests, power, or statutory policy, but the rich experience of traditional Chinese scholar-officials offers the possibility of going beyond the limitations of this perspective. The perspective of the reality and trends of “all under heaven” (tianxia), as a new narrative, reveals a unique practical logic and dynamic mechanism in Chinese political civilization that have been overlooked by the individualist perspective. The green sprouts policy (qingmiaofa) debate in the early years of the New Policies era of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) presents a historical situation that has not been given full attention by existing research.