The clan politics of the Eastern Jin Dynasty/东晋门阀政治

With rich historical materials and careful textual research and analysis, this book re-explores the issue of aristocratic politics in medieval Chinese history. It argues that the aristocratic politics of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, as commonly known by Chinese and foreign scholars, actually only existed in the Eastern Jin Dynasty; aristocratic politics is a perversion of imperial politics under specific historical conditions, which is temporary and transitional, and its form of existence is the co-governance of aristocratic families and imperial power. This book does not fall into the rut of discussing aristocratic families through marriage and officialdom, and provides insightful insights into this important issue in medieval Chinese political history. It has high academic value and is regarded as a model work in the study of ancient Chinese political history. It won the first National Book Award in 1993.

本书以丰富的史料和周密的考证分析, 对中国中古历史中的门阀政治问题作了再探索, 认为中外学者习称的魏晋南北朝门阀政治, 实际上只存在于东晋一朝; 门阀政治是皇权政治在特定历史条件下出现的变态, 具有暂时性和过渡性, 其存在形式是门阀士族与皇权的共治。本书不落以婚宦论门阀士族的窠臼, 对中国中古政治史中的这一重要问题提供了精辟的见解, 具有很高的学术价值, 被视为中国古代政治史研究的典范之作, 于1993年荣获第一届国家图书奖。