Two Approaches to Reexamining the Writings of Wang Anshi (1021–1086)

Abstract

Partisan historiographic intervention has strongly shaped what we know of the life and writings of the controversial Northern Song dynasty official Wang Anshi. Thus, interpreting his surviving textual legacy presents a significant challenge. The two monographs under review offer very different approaches to this challenge. Yang Xiaoshan explores the history of the interpretive issues, while Jonathan Pease takes a very personal approach to a lifetime of reflection on Wang Anshi’s life and works.