Sanctioned Violence in Early China (Suny Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture)

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly interesting.
Review: This book is used as a reference in many books about ancient China by prominent authors. There is good reason: it is engrossing in its discussion of how myths of sage-emperors actually reflected customs found in supposedly "enlightened" eras. It is startling to learn how many people -- including the supposedly benign "creator" of the Yijing -- fed people stews made of their enemies. The scholarship is amazing and so is the journey from the world of the Zhou to the Han and the differences in the amount of control over individual lives.