The Troubled Empire (History of Imperial China) Kindle Edition

This book is the fifth in Harvard's recent series on imperial China. The project spans two thousand years in six volumes, cleverly pairing pivotal dynasties (such as Qin and Yuan) with the classic eras that followed (such as Han and Ming). A literary device like this is necessary to organize and consolidate a subject so vast. At more than three hundred pages each volume, the entire collection is over two thousand pages.

It's a lot of reading but, as it turns out, not nearly enough to thoroughly cover the period. It is interesting to compare this extended approach to single volume histories such as Hucker's or Gernet's that make the attempt within a quarter of the text. The greater space allows a fuller range of civic and private life to be shown, which is an important advantage.

This installment revisits the Yuan dynasty of Kublai Khan and the succeeding Ming dynasty of 1368-1644. It is written by Timothy Brook, the editor of the series, and is a formidable contender for the best book in the collection. It begins with the appearance of dragons, harbingers of cataclysmic change, drawn from imperial chronicles which read like medieval newspaper clippings.

The collapse of the dynasties are attributed by Brook to Little Ice Age climatic disturbances, which correspond with the onset and low point of the cold temperatures. Dragons are seen as metaphors for extreme weather, the displeasure of Heaven and disasters for men. Periods of drought and episodes of flooding accompany meteorological anomalies. Famine followed floods, dams and dykes were destroyed, plagues and pestilence prevailed. The earth shook, toppling cities and homes, diverting rivers and killing millions. Ash and smoke from Japan's volcanoes blotted out the sun and sky.

As with other volumes in this series there is much more territory traversed. Brook covers Marco Polo and Matteo Ricci, conquests of the Jin and Song, the Great Wall and Canal, the Yellow and Yangtze river regions, civil service examinations and administrative districts, census and migration. Economy and ecology, families and religion are not left out.

The dominant mode of this series is thematic and topical, instead of strictly chronological. If you seek a straightforward narrative account of reigns and campaigns you will need to look elsewhere. This book accomplishes what is occasionally attempted but seldom achieved, a synthesis of academic rigor and literary excellence.

Timothy Brook, editor of the Imperial China series, has himself authored this 5th volume of a six volume set. He is a Ming specialist, so he is eminently qualified to write this volume. He takes a creative and unorthodox approach to the subject, where he avoids the usual "here are the Yuan and Ming Dynasties "in this order" approach." Instead he deftly establishes a new conceptual framework, where for example, the weather and not just geo-politics is viewed as the major determinant shaping Yuan-Ming Chinese History. He delights in revealing how (then) contemporary voices, as revealed through Chinese primary sources, help us to better understand the epic changes at work in 13th-17th century China. In a nutshell, his unconventional, but always interesting and informative, approach serves both the generalist and the advanced student, by offering a much-needed, but also much-delayed, new perspective
on Yuan-Ming History. Traditionally, the Yuan has been generally viewed alone by itself as a major dynasty, or alternately in close association with the Song (Sung) Dynasty 960-1279 CE. Brook, however, sees more logic and practicality in linking the Yuan and Ming together. This flies in the face of convention, where the Ming and Qing (Ch'ing) dynasties are traditionally viewed as a matched pair, under the well-established rubric of "Late Imperial China" in much the same way we see the Qin (Ch'in) and Han and the Sui and Tang as matched pairs, relative to the labels of "First" and "Second" empires respectfully. Beyond being unconventional in an interesting and thought provoking way, the value of such an approach is that it does two distinctly different tasks all at the same time.First, it informs us about the nuts and bolts of the narrative (essential for the novice and general reader); and it also infuses the discussion with helpful interpretations and explanations about the why and how, as we are informed about the when, who, and where. In this way we are educated about the critical role of heretofore unknown elements that have acted as driving forces for change in the unfolding of Yuan and Ming narratives. This book does not debunk for the sake of debunking, which is to say that while there is revisionist thinking, there is also much that confirms or reaffirms what we already know about this period, which may anyway sound new to many readers. Anyone looking for a basic nuts-bolts narrative summary of these dynasties may be disappointed, because of Brook's novel approach. If this is the case, I refer anyone interested in a more structured and conventional "here it is" approach to give a look at Dardess' work The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), A Concise History of a Resilient Empire. There is, unfortunately, no equivalent for the Yuan Dynasty. The closest thing in this case would be John D Langlois' work, China Under Mongol Rule (originally issued as a collection of essays in 1981, and reissued again in 2014).

I have just finished reading all six volumes of this set. If that doesn't tell you I enjoyed learning more than I could proverbally imagine about the history of imperial China, then I do not know what else to tell you. II wanted to read about a topic that was new for me and the history of imperial China was perfect. I would not call any of the books in the series ordinary history. I'm not a historian, but to me they are more social and political history than recitations of wars and conquests and the men who led the nation. For example, if you don't know who the Boxers were and what they wanted, you will not get that background here. No script for "55 Day at Peking" here. May not be a movie script, but more information than I could handle without often going back and rereading previous material just to make sure I understood the context. Not bad writing, but lack of background and a desire to understand on my part. Book is extremely well written and, to me, absolutely fascinating.

Good series covering an immense subject. It is interesting that government jobs required an exam, a good idea for the US. It starts with the Yuan Empire which was Mongols led by Kublai Khan ruling China. The Silk Road was busy and past Samarkand there were Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians and many other religions. There were people from India, Bactria, Persia, Greece, Rome and goods of all kinds from silk to golden apples (oranges). But trade had been going on since the bronze age. The Yuan was followed the Ming Dynasty with more interesting things. There's an alleged curse “May you live in interesting times".

very thorough from a historical perspective..