As explained elsewhere in this volume, scholars of China have only recently begun to explore letters as objects of literary and historical analysis. That said, for the Song Dynasty (960–1279) in particular we now have several important studies of epistolary culture. They have begun to show how Song letters were used to maintain relationships, carry on intellectual debates, transmit news, and realize political agendas. They have also demonstrated the usefulness of letters for tracing trace social, political, and intellectual networks.

The current chapter aims to contribute to our growing understanding of the various ways letters functioned in Song men's social and political lives, as well as to illustrate some of the conventions of epistolary writing in the Song. I focus on the correspondence of a late Song literatus named Yao Mian 姚勉 (1216–1262). Yao is a fascinating and somewhat tragic character: born in the relative backwater of Xinchang 新昌 (present day Yifeng 宜豐 county, in Jiangxi), he came of age when the Song government was already in decline, threatened by Mongol invasion and led by a factionalized court and a distracted and self-indulgent emperor. Although he was a top-ranked degree-holder, served briefly at court, and corresponded with some of the most eminent political figures of the period, Yao Mian's own political position was marginal. His examination success came late, and both personal and political factors kept him out of office for the majority of his adult life. We know about him today almost exclusively through the survival of his own collected works.