Congratulations to Xiaoye You on the publication of his new monograph, Genre Networks and Empire: Rhetoric in Early Imperial China, with rhetoric assessment indicator Southern Illinois University Press.

Here is a description of the book:

Genre Networks and Empire integrates a decolonial and transnational approach to construct a rhetorical history of early imperial China. Xiaoye You centers ancient Chinese rhetoric by focusing on how an imperial matrix of power was established in the Han Dynasty through genres of rhetoric and their embodied circulation, and through epistemic constructs such as the Way, heaven, ritual, and yin-yang.

Through the concept of “genre networks,” You unlocks the mechanisms of early Chinese imperial bureaucracy and maps their far-reaching influence. A work that will interest students of both rhetoric and empire, the book explores communication issues related to governance, politics and public deliberation, court consultations, and—notably—the regulation of the inner quarters of empire. By closely reading debates among government officials, You illuminates their efforts to govern and legitimize the regime and their embodiment of different schools of thought. This book also examines a variety of rhetorical forms, from edicts, exam essays, and commentaries to instruction manuals, memorials, and poetry. Genre Networks and Empire reveals, through Chinese words and writing, how the ruling elites of Han China forged a linguistic matrix of power.