My hope in picking up this monograph was that I would learn something about the roots of Chinese national identity, and the author met my expectations quite well. As to why the Song Dynasty saw the rise of an officially promulgated notion of ethnic identity, Tackett notes the conjunction of such developments as the rise of the imperial system of examinations to join the state administration, the self-indoctrination required to pass these tests, the sense of the belonging that came from being part of the national intelligentsia, and how the processes of diplomatic interaction with Liao polity all contributed to the notion that there was a Han people that should be unified under one emperor. It might be noted that Tackett is quite careful in what he's arguing, as he's trying to avoid the pitfall of suggesting that there is some sort of unchanging, "essential" China, while pointing out useful parallels to be compared with other exercises in national building as a general endeavor. Recommended; if only because Tackett makes his points quite efficiently and wears his scholarship lightly. ( )