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This is a case study of Han Qi (1008–1075), one of the most influential statesmen in the Northern Song. Drawing on his funerary biographical work and other writing, it places at the forefront Han's family life and relationships, especially his role as a brother, uncle, and family head. The goal of the study is threefold: first, to establish Han as a “family man,” in contrast to his conventional image as an outstanding political figure; second, to illustrate how seemingly random occurrences shaped Han's life and fortune in significant ways. Finally, this essay aims to enrich scholarly understanding of family preservation in the Northern Song. For many years, the possibility of the Hans failing in this regard remained a source of anxiety for Han Qi. This fear shaped his interaction with members of the younger generations in tangible ways and created noticeable undertones in his writing on family matters.

This special issue of the Journal of Chinese History is dedicated to the studies of family relations. This introduction gives a brief survey of recent scholarship, puts the seven articles in this issue into conversation with each other, and identifies four main themes that emerge from this collection of essays.

[...]while it was not Professor Zhang's direct intention to do so, her essay makes yet another important contribution to the study of travel and its role in Song culture: one could easily make the argument, based on the contents of the author's essay, that inn-wall inscriptions are in fact a sub-category or sub-genre of Song travel writing (to my knowledge, no scholar has ever identified it as such). [...]unlike the usual division of Song travel writing into two distinct literary categories--verse and prose, inn-wall writing comprises both genres. [...]the subject matter range of inn-wall writing is much more diversified than the content in Song dynasty \"on the road\" (daozhong 道中) poetry and prose youji 游記. [...]perhaps most important, the inns and their wall inscriptions effectively functioned as a sort of in situ communication gathering place where guests often molded their identity because of what they read on those walls and how they thought about it. [...]along with other heavily inscribed natural and man-made structures, inns became culturally constructed spaces that were seamlessly integrated into the contemporary social and cultural landscape.