Ability and Difference in Early Modern China
A Mongol Family at the Ming Court
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13 377 Ft
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Estimated delivery time: In stock at the publisher, but not at Prospero's office. Delivery time approx. 3-5 weeks.
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Product details:
- Publisher Cambridge University Press
- Date of Publication 11 September 2025
- ISBN 9781009602020
- Binding Paperback
- No. of pages298 pages
- Size 228x151x16 mm
- Weight 440 g
- Language English 686
Categories
Short description:
A fresh perspective on Ming dynasty history, told through the unlikely success story of one Mongolian immigrant family.
MoreLong description:
In 1405, a family left their home in the Mongolian steppe and moved to China. This daring decision, taken at a time of dramatic change in eastern Eurasia, paved the way for 250 years of unlikely success at the Ming court. Winning recognition for military skill and loyalty, the family later known as the Wu gained a coveted title of nobility and became members of the capital elite until the dynasty's collapse in 1644. By tracing the individual fortunes of a single family, David Robinson offers a fresh and accessible perspective on the inner workings of Ming bureaucracy. He explores how the early-modern world's most developed state sought to balance the often contradictory demands of securing ability and addressing difference, a challenge common to nearly all polities.
'By untangling the fascinating saga of the Wu family - Mongolian migrants who rose into the Ming elite - David Robinson illuminates the overlooked military aristocracy whose diverse origins and varied skills helped Ming rule to endure for two and a half centuries. An original, carefully-textured portrait of the human face of Chinese statecraft.' Matthew W. Mosca, University of Washington, Seattle
Table of Contents:
List of charts; List of maps; Preface; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. An age of decisions; 2. Dying for his lord; 3. The sovereign's man; 4. Educating the entitled; 5. Representing the emperor; 6. Far from home; 7. Patronage, assessment and power; 8. Holding against the storming; 9. Turning every page; 10. Seizing fortune; Conclusion.
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