Seven Faces of the Ming Dynasty

Author: Zhang Hongjie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Emperors, usurpers, upright officials, eunuchs, rebels, traitors, loyal ministers – a complete picture of the feudal autocratic system of the Ming Dynasty. In Beijing, I read the manuscript of Zhang Hongjie’s alternative biographies of historical figures from a friend. The author may not have the same clear academic and intellectual writing intentions as Western scholars, but Zhang Hongjie’s writing style, which narrates historical events and depicts historical figures in a normal voice, excited me immensely.
— Zhang Yi
Zhang Hongjie is a master of observation and recording. His calm and meticulous penwork vividly expresses the complexity, depth, uniqueness, and inexplicable yet reasonable aspects of human nature, bringing it to life. Familiar historical facts take on entirely different appearances in his hands, appearing fresh and fascinating.
— Mo Yan
Zhang Hongjie does not speak unless he fully understands, and he does not write about people and things he cannot truly comprehend. This is a path that can lead to great achievements.
— Wu Si
Historical emperors, generals, traitors, and rebellious ministers, in Zhang Hongjie’s writing, transform from cold historical records into vivid figures, allowing us to directly experience the wisdom, cunning, helplessness, cruelty, and bloodshed of the ancients. Wu Si and I are of the same generation. No matter how profound or sharp his historical insights may be, I would never be surprised. But Zhang Hongjie… so young, yet his perspective on history is so mature. One cannot help but be impressed.
— Ding Dong
Seven faces represent seven individuals. One emperor: Zhu Yuanzhang; one usurper: Zhu Di; one upright official: Hai Rui; one eunuch: Wei Zhongxian; one traitor: Wu Sangui; one loyal minister: Zheng Chenggong. In this historical drama of the Great Ming Dynasty, each of these seven characters performs their roles with difficulty. This book interprets the lives of Ming Dynasty historical figures, revealing the unknown hardships, anxieties, and necessities behind the seven well-known roles, analyzing why they struggled, twisted, and were exhausted. This is both the condition of people in history and their condition in culture. And these seven distinct faces form the silhouette of the Great Ming Dynasty, which was both powerful and weak, resolute in will yet scattered in spirit.