The Chinese State in Ming Society

ISBN-13: 9780415345071 / Angielski / Miękka / 2004 / 264 str.

Timothy Brook;Brook Timothy

Opis

The Ming dynasty (1368-1644), a period of commercial expansion and cultural innovation, fashioned the relationship between the present day state and society in China. This unique collection of reworked and heavily illustrated essays, by one of the leading scholars of Chinese history, re-examines this relationship and 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.

Spis treści

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

O autorze

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