Description
Book SynopsisDuring the reign of Emperor Ch'ien-lung, mass hysteria broke out among the common people, who feared that sorcerers were roaming the land and clipping the ends of men's braids in order to steal their souls. In his chronicle of this epidemic of fear and the official prosecutions that ensued, Kuhn opens a window on eighteenth-century China.
Trade ReviewA masterful study by one of the West’s premier Chinese historians. -- Frederic Wakeman, Jr. * New York Review of Books *
Kuhn’s fascinating particulars demonstrate how in any society provincial panic can become a national witch-hunt. * New Yorker *
A subtle, powerful, and still relevant inquiry into the dynamics of autocratic rule. -- From the Joseph Levenson Book Prize citation
Table of Contents* Introduction * A Time of Turmoil * Model Rulers * Reforming into Collapse * The Song in the South * Three Doctrines * Education and Examination * Life Cycle Rituals * Exploring the World Within and Without * Transforming the Capitals * A Changing World of Production * Money and Taxes * Private Lives in the Public Sphere * Conclusion * Dynastic Rulers * Measures * Pronunciation Guide * Notes * Bibliography * Acknowledgments * Index
