The Chinese State in Ming Society / Edition 1

by Timothy Brook

Overview

The Ming dynasty (1368-1644), a period of commercial expansion and cultural innovation, fashioned the relationship between state and society in Chinese history. This unique collection of reworked and heavily illustrated essays, by one of the leading scholars of Chinese history, re-examines this relationship. It argues that, contrary to previous scholarship, it was radical responses within society that led to a 'constitution', not periods of fluctuation within the dynasty itself. Brook's outstanding scholarship demonstrates that it was changes in commercial relations and social networks that were actually responsible for the development of a stable society. This imaginative reconsidering of existing scholarship on the history of China will be fascinating reading for scholars and students interested in China's development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415345071
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/25/2004
Series:	Asia's Transformations/Critical Asian Scholarship
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Timothy Brook is Professor in Faculty of History, University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Grave in Nanchang A Note on Sources Part 1: Surveys 1. The Spatial Organization of Subcounty Administration 2. The Gazetteer Cartography of Ye Chunji Part 2: Fields 3. Taxing Polders on the Yangzi Delta 4. Growing Rice in North Zhili Part 3: Books 5. Building School Libraries in the Mid-Ming 6. State Censorship and the Book Trade Part 4: Monasteries 7. At the Margin of Public Authority: The Ming State and Buddhism 8. Buddhism in the Chinese Constitution: Recording Monasteries in North Zhili Epilogue: States of the field