Liang Cai is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Arkansas.

List of Charts and Tables
Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Minority as the Protagonists: Revisiting Ru¿ (Confucians) and Their Colleagues under Emperor Wu (141-87 BCE) of the Han

Ru, a Minority Group
Sources of the Myth

2. A Class Merely on Paper: A Study of "The Collective Biographies of Ru" in The Grand Scribe's Records (Shi ji ¿¿)

Ru Identity Suppressed by Conflicts
Transforming "Ru" into Confucians
Redefining the Principles of Hierarchy

3. An Archeology of Interpretive Schools of the Five Classics in the Western Han Dynasty

Fragmented Scholarly Lineages
Revising Sima Qian
The Emergence and Proliferation of Interpretive Schools
Continuity or Disruption
Locating the Turning Point

4. A Reshuffle of Power: Witchcraft Scandal and the Birth of a New Class

A Fundamental Disjunction
The Rise of Ru Officials
Witchcraft Scandal and the Birth of a New Class

5. Begin in the Middle: Who Entrusted Ru with Political Power?

Huo Guang's Dictatorship and Ru Discourse
Techniques of the Classics (jingshu ¿¿) and Legitimacy of the Throne
Ru Officials under Huo Guang and Emperor Xuan
Who Entrusted Ru with Political Power?

Conclusion
Ru before the Rise of the Ru Empire
Recruitment System of the Han Empire Revisited

Appendix: Major Official Titles of the Western Han Dynasty
Notes
Bibliography
Index