Qing Dynasty and Traditional Chinese Culture

Richard J. Smith is George and Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities, Professor of History, and James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Scholar at Rice University.

• PREFACEINTRODUCTIONCHAPTER 1: THE MING DYNASTY LEGACY The Founding of the MingThe Evolution of Ming Institutions Ming CultureCHAPTER 2: CONQUEST AND CONSOLIDATIONThe Fall of the Ming and the Rise of the Qing The Qing Empire: A Brief OverviewCHAPTER 3: THE QING POLITICAL ORDERImperial Rule and Metropolitan OfficesAdministrative Integration and Its LimitsCHAPTER 4: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONSSocial Classes and ConflictsForms of Chinese Socioeconomic OrganizationCHAPTER 5: LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLIC REFERENCE Languages of the QingThe Relationship between Language and CultureCHAPTER 6: THOUGHTThe World of IdeasThe Confucian Moral OrderDaoist Flight and FancyCHAPTER 7: RELIGIONState SacrificesBuddhism and Religious DaoismPopular ReligionCHAPTER 8: ARTS AND CRAFTSAttitudes Toward ArtCraft ProductionsPainting and CalligraphyCHAPTER 9: LITERATURECategories of Classical LiteratureVernacular LiteratureCHAPTER 10: SOCIAL LIFEEarly Life-Cycle RitualMarriage and BeyondAmusementsCHAPTER 11: THE LATE QING AND BEYOND, 1860–2014Reform, Revolution, and China’s Inherited CultureAPPENDICESAppendix A: A Note on Chinese NamesAppendix B: Weights and Measures, Exchange Rates and CostsAppendix C: Regional Differences and Provincial StereotypesAppendix D: Glossary of Some Philosophical ConceptsAppendix E: Tables of Contents of Selected Editions of the Wanbao quanshu (1612, 1636, 1758 and 1828)Appendix F: Some English-Language Writings on Honglou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber) Appendix G: The Three Character ClassicNOTESBIBLIOGRAPHYINDEX

In this comprehensive history of Qing China (1636–1912), Smith offers an insightful interpretation of the empire’s successes, the Manchu rulers’ multiculturalism, and the dominant Han Chinese culture’s enduring vigor. Organized both chronologically and thematically, the survey starts with an engaging overview of the political trajectory of China from the 14th century to the dawn of the 20th century, followed by an in-depth discussion of the Qing Empire’s essential institutions. A renowned expert on Chinese cosmology and thought, historian Smith provides lucid discussions in the remaining pages on the major facets of the dynasty’s cultural landscape, as well as the mechanisms that sustained its dynamics. The systematic attention that the survey gives to the mental world of the Qing Chinese supplements the dominant emphasis on political and socioeconomic history in other authoritative overviews of the dynasty. . . . Smith’s work is up-to-date, providing synopses of recent debates and new findings in the field. An indispensable resource for teachers and students of late imperial and modern China, as well as for those who labor in the vineyards of world history courses. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.