Böcker av Shih-Shan Henry Tsai

This study of Chinese eunuchs illuminates the entire history of the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, and provides broad information on various aspects of pre-modern China.

The reign of Emperor Yongle, or "Perpetual Happiness," was one of the most dramatic and significant in Chinese history. It began with civil war and a bloody coup, saw the construction of the Forbidden City, the completion of the Grand Canal, consolidation of the imperial bureaucracy, and expansion of China's territory into Mongolia, Manchuria, and Vietnam.Beginning with an hour-by-hour account of one day in Yongle's court, Shih-shan Henry Tsai presents the multiple dimensions of the life of Yongle (Zhu Di, 1360-1424) in fascinating detail. Tsai examines the role of birth, education, and tradition in molding the emperor's personality and values, and paints a rich portrait of a man characterized by stark contrasts. Synthesizing primary and secondary source materials, he has crafted a colorful biography of the most renowned of the Ming emperors.The open access publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation.

The work provides a solid statistical analysis in a way that will be accessible to students and scholars as well as general readers.

A colorful portrait of the greatest of the Ming emperors. Builder of the Great Wall, Yongle (1368-1644) also moved the capital to Beijing and built the Forbidden City, completed the Grand Canal, strengthened the court bureaucracy, and explored the world.

For centuries the island of Taiwan has been a crossroads for traders and settlers from around the world. Unlike China, with its tradition of keeping foreigners out, Taiwan has a long history of interaction, both hostile and friendly, with other seafaring nations near and far. This title captures the drama and details of this remarkable history.