The Reunification of China

'The Reunification of China offers a richly detailed narrative on the founding of the Song empire, tracing its origins in the Five Dynasties and extending forward to the critical turn toward civilian rule during the second and third reigns. The reader is reminded of the centrality of war to politics and simultaneously the serendipity of history in the absence of grand plans. Peter Lorge has shed invaluable light on this important period of transition, which in turn enriches our understanding of the broader history of China's middle period.' Richard L. Davis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong 'This book challenges the conventional narrative of medieval Chinese history in which the Song dynasty founders ended the chaos of the Five Dynasties period in 960 because they offered a new model of governance based on civil rather than military values. Lorge's deeper look into early Song history makes a major contribution to the military history of China.' Charles Hartman, University at Albany, State University of New York 'This is the fullest account in any Western language of the political and military dimensions of the founding of the Song dynasty in 960 and the decades-long process of its consolidation and stabilisation, culminating in 1005. I doubt any Sinologist in the Western world knows more about tenth-century China than Lorge, and his meticulous and penetrating monograph on it will stand as the standard work for our time.' David Curtis Wright, University of Calgary