ABSTRACT
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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |16 pages
Introduction: a grave in Nanchang
part |2 pages
PART I Space
chapter |24 pages
The spatial organization of subcounty administration
chapter |18 pages
The gazetteer cartography of Ye Chunji
part |2 pages
PART II Fields
chapter |18 pages
Taxing polders on the Yangzi Delta
chapter |18 pages
Growing rice in North Zhili
part |2 pages
PART III Books
chapter |17 pages
Building school libraries in the mid-Ming
chapter |19 pages
State censorship and the book trade
part |2 pages
PART IV Monasteries