Books about the Ming Dinasty

[Roxana Elena]

你们好! Does anyone here has some e-books on the Ming Dinasty? I would really need them for my degree paper. More exactly, on religion in the Ming Dinasty, but I know this is a little too much...so any book on the Ming dinasty would be a real treasure! I cannot find that much online and some books on this topic would be more reliable sources.

Thank you very much!

[kdavid]

If I knew the topic of your paper, I could be of more help.

Also, are you looking for Chinese or English books?

[Bates]

a famous book serious,明朝那些事， those thing s about Ming dynasty, was popular in mainland China several years ago, and its not that hard , which is most historical book s way.

it's so popular that the name was copy by many books, ie 汉朝那些事，清朝那些事， those thing s about Han, qing dynasty.

And it's the best seller in historical book in China .

About 8 books,btw, the writer is not a pro,the officer bearer spare his time to finish it.in fact, many best sellers are written by one can't be called a writer, I will send the e book later, cos I'm using my android

[Bates]

http://pan.baidu.com/share/link? shareid=289333&uk=1949072870

[Roxana Elena]

Thank you very much! I would prefer some books in English, though. I don't have the exact title yet, but something related to the co-existence of religions like Daoism and Buddhism, reflected in literature and the everyday life. Something like that

[Shelley]

@Bates - That link seems broken or something. if you go there it is just about a gir,l no links to books on the Ming Dynasty that I could see but my Chinese might not be good enough but I think it is saying that the page you requested is not available.

[hackinger]

Hi,

just remove the blank after '?'.

nk? shar -> nk?shar

Cheers

hackinger

[skylee]

I have read part of the book suggested by Bates but don't think it is very well written, which was the main reason why I have only read part of it.

There is a very famous book called "1587, A Year Of No Significance" (萬曆十八年)which is about the Ming Dynasty. You can find it on Amazon. Other members may be able to suggest books that are about religions of that period.

[kdavid]

I haven't read the 那些事 series, but based on what I've deduced from reviews, spot-reading, and the fact that the series takes a kaleidoscopic approach to numerous dynasties, I'd surmise the books are no better than a survey, which may not be bad for the layman.

@Roxana

The book skylee recommended is available in English, and well-read amongst Ming-dynasty scholars. It will provide some insight into to the daily workings of politics at the very least (albeit essentially during the fall of the dynasty).

I'd also recommend you start with the Cambridge Histories of the Ming Dynasty; two volumes on Ming, if I remember correctly. You could likely start there and then go in more depth using the authors' bibliographies.

For Chinese sources, 孟森 is renown for his 明清讲义; though this is very difficult to read (even for Chinese).

I haven't studied the topic of religion during the Ming in-depth, however, from what I understand this was a period of faux de mieux Confucian "renaissance". Official-scholars proclaimed to be ridding Confucianism of the "Dark Learning", Buddhist and Daoist metaphysics acquired since the fall of the Han. This led to the creation of 宋明理学, which, as the name hints, actually began during the Song, under the auspices (primarily) of the 程 brothers. In short, these attempts, in the long-run, actually created a system of thought far from practical, one regarded by Qing scholars as 内圣之学.

I believe if you want to delve deep into "purer" Buddhism and Daoism, you'll need to look into folk culture. The Cambridge Histories should set you on the right track.