Conservatism and court politics in northern Sung China: The thought and career of Ssu-ma Kuang (1019-1086)

This dissertation provides a new interpretation of Ssu-ma Kuang's conservatism and analyzes his career in relationship to Northern Sung politics. Ssu-ma Kuang's conservatism was characterized by a reverence for the wisdom of the past and an urge to preserve past achievements. For him, deviations from established practice were potentially dangerous and could be effected only with utmost caution. To preserve the hard-won peace and stability of the empire for everyone's benefit, the ruler should secure the hierarchical system and focus on the most essential task of government: personnel management. Since the resources of the empire were limited, the government should limit its expenditures in order to prepare for emergencies and to lower its burden on the people.; Ssu-ma Kuang's political career points to a general phenomenon in Sung politics at his time: The rulers were constantly trying to strengthen or maintain their control over government. Their main tool for this purpose was a system of checks and balances among officials. Second tier court officials, especially remonstrance officials, never wanted top administrators to grow too powerful. Consequently, the ruler could maintain control simply by letting power struggles occur. When both sides appealed to imperial support, the emperor's position was strengthened. Ssu-ma Kuang enjoyed his rulers' trust because he always defended the interest of the throne. In court politics, he often strengthened imperial power by counter-balancing the influence of the most powerful ministers.; Ssu-ma Kuang's conservatism motivated his opposition to Wang An-shih's famous New Policies. Although Emperor Shen-tsung supported these policies enthusiastically, he still trusted Ssu-ma Kuang and tried to promote him to important offices. For this reason, anti-reformers looked upon him as their greatest hope to convert the emperor to their side. At the end of his life, Ssu-ma Kuang abandoned his conservative caution to abolish the New Policies. Yet, his actions were still motivated by his old views on the proper role of government.