Why did the past matter so greatly in ancient China? How did it matter and to whom? This is an innovative study of how the past was implicated in the long transition of power in early China, as embodied by the decline of the late Bronze Age aristocracy and the rise of empires over the first millenium BCE. Engaging with a wide array of historical materials, including inscriptional records, excavated manuscripts, and transmitted texts, Vincent S. Leung moves beyond the historiographical canon and explores how the past was mobilized as powerful ideological capital in diverse political debate and ethical dialogue. Appeals to the past in early China were more than a matter of cultural attitude, Leung argues, but were rather deliberate ways of articulating political thought and challenging ethical debates during periods of crisis. Significant power lies in the retelling of the past.

‘Vincent S. Leung has produced an exceptional piece of intellectual history. The book is a powerful testament to the fact that the past is not necessarily a neutral, objective given; it can be a high-stakes enterprise involving contested notions of heritage, origin, and authority that reflect concerns and interests in the present.'

Erica Brindley - Pennsylvania State University

‘This well-annotated study of Chinese historiography from the Bronze Age through Sima Qian stands out for its wide range of sources, including received texts and palaeographical material, such as bronze inscriptions and manuscripts on bamboo. Also notable is the author's grasp of secondary studies, in both Chinese studies and the philosophy of history generally.'

Paul R. Goldin - University of Pennsylvania

'… Leung adeptly illuminates the 'ambivalent status of historical knowledge' (p. 115), revealing how historiographical discourse was deployed to legitimate or undermine contemporary political regimes and institutions. The examination, in chapter 3, of how a series of Qin stele inscriptions poignantly articulated the state's 'dominion over the past' is a compelling example among many of Leung's masterful ruminations on the enduring power of the past … Highly Recommended.'

M. Landeck Source: Choice

‘The Politics of the Past in Early China is an elegantly written book, and Leung’s pithy summations provide food for thought and allow readers to easily follow his claims … offering both sophisticated readings and highly approachable overviews, Leung has managed the difficult task of writing a bridge-spanning book that will interest specialists as well as students just starting to explore early historical rhetoric and, indeed, Warring States and early imperial thought more broadly. I look forward to Leung’s further considerations of these and other topics.'

Luke Habberstad Source: Journal of Chinese History