State Versus Gentry in Late Ming Dynasty China, 1572-1644

This book looks at the bitter factionalism that plagued the last days of China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as an ideological struggle between those scholar-officials who believed that sovereignty resided in the imperial state and those who believed that it resided with the learned gentry. This dichotomy provides a clear elucidation of late-Ming factional strife, cutting through the confusion that has made study of this period difficult in the past. The book therefore contributes greatly to our un…