Ability and Difference in Early Modern China

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-1-009-60202-0
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 298 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 435 g

In 1405, a family left their home in the Mongolian steppe and moved to China. This daring decision, taken at a time of dramatic change in eastern Eurasia, paved the way for 250 years of unlikely success at the Ming court. Winning recognition for military skill and loyalty, the family later known as the Wu gained a coveted title of nobility and became members of the capital elite until the dynasty's collapse in 1644. By tracing the individual fortunes of a single family, David Robinson offers a fresh and accessible perspective on the inner workings of Ming bureaucracy. He explores how the early-modern world's most developed state sought to balance the often contradictory demands of securing ability and addressing difference, a challenge common to nearly all polities.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Robinson, David

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of charts; List of maps; Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. An age of decisions; 2. Dying for his lord; 3. The sovereign's man; 4. Educating the entitled; 5. Representing the emperor; 6. Far from home; 7. Patronage, assessment and power; 8. Holding against the storming; 9. Turning every page; 10. Seizing fortune; Conclusion.

Über Autor(innen)

Robinson, David
David Robinson is Robert H. N. Ho Professor in Asian Studies and Professor of History at Colgate University and author of Korea and the Fall of the Mongol Empire: Alliance, Upheaval, and the Rise of a New East Asian Order (2024).