Research Expertise and Interest

Chinese history (Tang, Song, Liao dynasties), global middle ages, sino-steppe relations, aristocracies, meritocracy, elites, political culture, death ritual, premodern cities, premodern empires, imperialism, ethnicity, nationalism, national identity, social networks, frontiers, boundaries and borderlands, digital methodologies

Research Description

Nicholas Tackett is a specialist of China during the Tang, Song, and Liao dynasties (7th c. to 13th c.). His published books and his current research deal with the demise of the medieval aristocracy and concomitant rise of the Chinese meritocracy (9th-10th c.), and the development of a Chinese nationalism during the 11th c. He makes use of both textual and excavated materials. He has compiled an extensive database of 30,000 people living during the 9th and 10th c.; and also a second database of Northeast Asian tombs dating roughly to the 11th c. Both databases are available for download on his webpage.