Illustrated World -- Ming (Series on Chinese History)

Author: Gong Shuduo
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not Available
Features:
This is a rigidly controlled era. Government surveillance of society has reached the most stringent level in history; the torment of eunuchs only adds to the suffering; scholars are ensnared in the imperial examinations, with few independent thoughts. Unable to achieve either literary or martial greatness, the literati instead focus on refining their inner cultivation. In landscapes and calligraphy, they find tranquility; on the stage and in fiction, they enact their dreams.
This is also an introverted empire. Along its long northern border, the Great Wall, long abandoned, is brought back into use—both to ward off nomadic invasions and to reveal the lack of martial spirit in the Zhu dynasty. This book, richly illustrated and diverse in style, vividly recreates China's long and splendid history and civilization through over a thousand carefully selected historical stories. The book is clear in its historical context, detailed in its facts, concise and lively in its writing, and supplemented with abundant illustrations, making it a refined and engaging read on history.