• Date: August 28th, Thursday, 2025, 10:00 – 12:00
• Location: Room 304, SNUAC (Bldg. 101)

Presenter: Sukhee Lee (Rutgers Univ.)
Moderator/Discussant: Ho Kim (SNUAC)

The core aim of this book talk is to examine how the medieval Chinese state was maintained and operated “from below.” The presenter approaches the state through the records of Huang Zhen (黃震, 1213–1281), a local official in the late Southern Song. Huang’s meticulous administrative records stand as some of the most detailed sources for understanding the period, and they reveal how the Southern Song responded pragmatically and flexibly to challenges such as the expansion of the scholar-official elite, the failure of the New Policies (新法), and intensifying external threats. To frame this, the presenter applies James Scott’s concepts of “practical knowledge, informal procedures, and improvisation amid unpredictability” to highlight the adaptability of Southern Song governance.

The presenter, Professor Sukhee Lee (Department of History, Rutgers University, USA), was born in Korea, completed his B.A. and M.A. in History at Yonsei University, and earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 2009.