1587, a Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780300028843)

"If you buy only one work on pre-modern Chinese history this year, make it this one."--W. S. Atwell, History

Winner of the American Book Award for History

In 1587, the Year of the Pig, nothing very special happened in China. Yet in the seemingly unspectacular events of this ordinary year, Ray Huang finds exemplified the roots of China's perennial inability to adapt to change.

Through fascinating accounts of the lives of seven prominent officials, he fashions a remarkably vivid portrayal of the court and the ruling class of late imperial China. In revealing the subtle but inexorable forces that brought about the paralysis and final collapse of the Ming dynasty, Huang offers the reader perspective into the problems China has faced through the centuries.

Author: Ray Huang
ISBN-10: 0300028849
ISBN-13: 9780300028843
Publisher: Yale University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/10/1982
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 9.22h x 6.12w x 0.81d