The Manchus (Peoples of Asia) (Paperback)

by Pamela Kyle Crossley (Author) "The confusion of Mongols and Manchus under the name of "Tartar" is a handly starting point for consideration of the Manchus as a people and..." (more)
Key Phrases: ujen cooha, banner officers, conquest regime, Hung Taiji, Eight Banners, Aisin Gioro (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Pamela Crossley's The Manchus is the book that those interested in China's last dynasty have always needed. Through her clear, erudite, and succinct presentation, we are led to understand the origins of Manchu social organization, the formation of a Manchu ethnicity, and the implementation of a specifically Manchu view of universal empire. We also see the loss of purpose and erosion of self-confidence that led to the dynasty's collapse in 1912." Jonathan Spence, Yale University

Product Description
This book relates the history of the Manchus, the rise and fall of their vast empire and their legacy today.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (June 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631235914
• ISBN-13: 978-0631235910
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,645 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not an academic book, May 17, 2002

By	"wkzmed" (Marion, Ohio) - See all my reviews

I visited to pick up the paperback of this book, and saw this perplexing comment below. This book and The Last Emperor are apples and oranges. This is a popular book (I got my original copy from History Book Club) and intended for reader's with a general interest, or maybe beginning historians. The book by Evelyn S. Rawski is an academic title, very thorough and erudite. But also the books are not on the same subject. Rawski is about the Manchu emperors, their courts and palaces. The Manchus is much more general. Please do not get confused into thinking that these two books are on the same subject.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly relevant, May 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Manchus (The Peoples of Asia) (Illustrated) (Hardcover)

It's funny to note that at many times the Qing dynasty faced many of the same problems that we see today: overpopulation, government corruption, war against drugs. So much of what we think of as Chinese is also Manchu and was introduced rather recently. Well writen and clear all the way through.

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a solid book on Jurchen/Manchu history!, June 3, 2007

By	Lady Moon Biya "Lady Moon Biya" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

Read your typical history book covering Chinese history and you'll get a very distinct picture of the Jurchens and Manchus--about their conquest of china, the corruption of the Qing government (as if no other dynasty had corruption), of the power-hungry Aisio-gioro Nurgaci, founder of the Qing dynasty, and their alien, steppe-nomadic ways. Most Chinese history books have little good or substantive to say about this north-east Asian culture whose term for their religious priesthood was adopted by the West, "Shaman" (Chinese, "saman").

This book takes all that mythology and anti-Manchu rehtoric and blasts it to pieces with a compelling story of a people who have rarely been studied objectively and as a culture separate from the Mongols and Chinese. Nurgaci was not the man of the myths we've heard and never called himself Emperor. In fact for most of his life his title was "beile of the Jianzhou Jurchens". He was a great lord and chieftain of his lineage, but not even an autocrat in his authority, ruling jointly with his brother, Surgaci, for many years.

Besides the myths about Nuragi, many cultural myths are also dispelled. One major one is the assumption that the Manchus were nomads with a steppe culture analogous to the Mongol culture. This book explains how and why this assumption is wrong and is essential to anyone who wants to know the real Manchu people.

I'm only 3 chapters into the book and already know I need to reread it. there's a lot of information for the student of Jurchen and Manchu history!

WELL DONE!!