Description
Book SynopsisThis clear and engaging book provides a concise overview of the Ming-Qing epoch (13681912), China's last imperial age. Beginning with the end of the Mongol domination of China in 1368, this five-century period was remarkable for its continuity and stability until its downfall in the Revolution of 1911. Viewing the Ming and Qing dynasties as a coherent era characterized by the fruition of diverse developments from earliest times, Jonathan Porter traces the growth of imperial autocracy, the role of the educated Confucian elite as custodians of cultural authority, the significance of ritual as the grounding of political and social order, the tension between monarchy and bureaucracy in political discourse, the evolution of Chinese cultural identity, and the perception of the barbarian and other views of the world beyond China. As the climax of traditional Chinese history and the harbinger of modern China in the twentieth century, Porter argues that imperial China must be explored for its o
Trade ReviewPorter capitalizes on four decades of teaching Chinese history to produce this work on China's last two dynasties. He emphasizes the mega trends and offers vignettes that will ingratiate the work to readers. These vignettes consist principally of biographies of leading figures and ordinary individuals whose lives reflect developments in the Imperial period. The book deviates from the usual interpretations of Chinese history that cover from the 17th century on as a response to the West. Instead, Porter emphasizes the domestic events and concerns that shaped the Qing dynasty’s (1644–1911) responses. Porter does not ignore the West's impact, but he places it in the context of indigenous developments that Chinese and Manchu policy makers faced. Another valuable distinction is Porter’s treatment of the Qing as a Manchu dynasty influenced by Chinese civilization. Until recently, conventional wisdom was that the Manchu rulers had rapidly become Sinicized and that the dynasty scarcely differed from traditional Chinese ones. Incorporating the insights of the New Qing historians, Porter examines the Qing as a multiethnic empire under Manchu leadership. The writing is clear and free of jargon, the book is well organized, and the maps are unfussy and fit in with the text. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. * CHOICE *
Professor Porter has produced the ideal textbook for a late Imperial China course. I read the book with growing admiration and enthusiasm. There is, simply put, an enormous amount of wisdom and pedagogical experience embedded in this book, more than enough to guide undergraduate students for years to come. The content is balanced, with the story told in twenty disciplined chapters. The writing is clear and judicious and avoids pitfalls in a way that only an experienced teacher could. -- R. Kent Guy, University of Washington
Reading Jonathan Porter’s Imperial China feels as comfortable as an old shoe and as clear as a new pair of glasses. Deftly incorporating a generation of Western scholarship on late Imperial China, Porter tells the story with a judicious use of the classical referents through which Chinese understand their own past. The product of four decades of teaching, this text should find a place in courses seeking to understand the last centuries of imperial rule and the background to China’s modern transformation. -- Joseph Esherick, emeritus, University of California, San Diego
China's late Imperial period from the thirteenth to the nineteenth centuries is complex but essential to understanding the path to the modern world. Jonathan Porter’s new history of the period is conceptually compact while enlivened by vivid detail and consistent contact with the original documents. A wide range of readers will appreciate its unusual clarity, nuance, and focus. -- Pamela Kyle Crossley, Dartmouth College
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Introduction Part I: The Classical Legacy, 1000–1350 Chapter 1 Song: The Great Divide Chapter 2 The Barbarian Ascendancy Chapter 3 The Imperial Myth: The Mandate Of Heaven Part II: The Imperial Way, 1350–1650 Chapter 4 The Rise of the Ming Chapter 5 Autocrat, Bureaucrat, Empress, Eunuch Chapter 6 The Ming and the World Chapter 7 Luan: Disintegration of Order Part III: The High Qing, 1650–1800 Chapter 8 The Manchu Revolution Chapter 9 Style and Substance: Imperial Culture Chapter 10 Imperial Absolutism: The Monarch and the Minister Part IV: Ming and Qing Foundations, 1368–1900 Chapter 11 The Good Earth Chapter 12 Merchants and Markets Chapter 13 Official Life and literati Culture Chapter 14 Images in the Heavens, Pattern on the Earth Chapter 15 The Spiritual World Chapter 16 The Relevance of Confucius Part V: When Worlds Collide, 1500–1870 Chapter 17 The Empire and the Garden Chapter 18 Opium Chapter 19 The Heavenly Kingdom Part VI: Continuity in Change, 1870–1890 Chapter 20 Self-strengthening and its Fate Epilogue The Twilight of Imperial China Selected Bibliography Index About the Author
