Determining orthodoxy : imperial roles / by Jack L. Dull -- Ssu-ma Chʻien's portrayal of the first Chʻin emperor / by Stephen Durrant -- The emperor and literature : Emperor Wu of the Han / by David R. Knechtges -- Empress Wu and proto-feminist sentiments in Tʻang China / by Chen Jo-shui -- Academies : official sponsorship and suppression / by Thomas H. C. Lee -- Imperial rulership and Buddhism in the early Northern Sung / by Huang Chi-chiang -- Imperial rulership in cultural history : Chu Hsi's interpretation / by Chün-chieh Huang -- The emperor and the star spirits : a mythological reading of the Shui-hu chuan / by Frederick P. Brandauer -- Ku Yen-wu's ideal of the emperor : a cultural giant and political dwarf / by Ku Wei-ying -- Imperial powers and the appointment of provincial governors in Chʻing China, 1700-1900 / by R. Kent Guy -- Some observations and reflections / by Chün-chieh Huang