Heresy and orthodoxy in Song dynasty China (960--1279 C.E.)

This thesis considers the question of heresy as it relates to the context of Song dynasty China (960-1279 C.E.). It analyzes the ways in which the Song Imperial authorities constructed a religious orthodoxy and defended it through the legal system. It will deal with how heresy is defined in a multi-religious polity without a unified church, such as the Catholic Church of the medieval West. This thesis will argue that a definition of heresy derived from western heresiology is a valid analytical model and that Song China had a religious orthodoxy constructed around the person of the Emperor.