 The Neo-Confucian era begins in the early Song dynasty, which itself is founded in 960 CE. A combination of social and political changes create fertile ground for new socio-political theorizing. The key marker of social status in the Tang dynasty (618–907) had been one’s pedigree, and the society was organized around something close to a state-sponsored aristocracy. Seeking its own legitimacy, the leaders of the new Song dynasty settled on a partnership with a transformed elite class, now based more in education and claims of merit than in ancestry. Instead of official families, the elite become a “community of the educated”; Song society is far more literate and published than its Tang predecessor, and scholars generally refer to the new elite as the “literati” (Bol 2008: 31–9). In this fertile soil, the idea that literati should reflect on the Way and seek to influence their society took root and grew.