Overview

Sons of Heaven is the first accessible, newly researched account in English of the imperial family who ruled Ming China (1368-1644), one of the country's most dynamic and influential eras. Beginning with a fresh look at what a dynasty really was, the book follows the lives of emperors, empresses, relatives and those who came into the imperial orbit. Uniquely drawing from official and unofficial Chinese primary sources, including gossip-rich 'wild histories', it presents a more intimate, complex picture of court life - its politics, personalities and pleasures. Moving beyond stereotypes, the book highlights the power, intrigue and humanity of Ming rule. Richly illustrated with period art that brings the imperial world to life, this is a compelling portrait of dynasty as lived reality.

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9781836391760

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Reviews

In this lavishly illustrated book, the author offers us a fresh view of the Ming as a dynastic enterprise. We emerge from it with a new sense of how the political arena was shaped by the workings of the sprawling clan at its heart, continuously sprouting new branches of imperial princes, calculating advantageous marriages, and frequently afflicted by brutal violence. It gives due weight to the importance of women as well as men, and of the dead as well as the living. Sons of Heaven is distinguished by its sense of the strangeness of the past, its eye for discreet but telling deployment of inter-disciplinary insights, and its engagement with the broader vistas of global history. * Alan Strathern, Professor of Global History, University of Oxford * The vivid details of the lives of Ming dynasty emperors (1368–1644), in contemporary records and rare illustrations, offer us today a unique view of China’s rulers, whose world, hidden in their palaces, could not be seen or imagined by their subjects. Craig Clunas’s exemplary but also extraordinary account reveals the texture of their daily encounters and observations, embedded in a period and culture of which we know still far too little. These emperors remind us too of the sophistication of their immense territory, as it began to enter the imaginations of Europeans. * Jessica Rawson, Professor of Chinese Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford * This innovative, beautifully illustrated book narrates the history of the Ming dynasty in an emperor-by-emperor format that interweaves personal, familial, and dynastic history. Rigorously researched, it uncovers how individual emperors shaped politics (and vice versa), thereby revealing the palace events and machinations of the Ming in Anglophone prose. * Jennifer Purtle, Associate Professor of Chinese and East Asian Art History, University of Toronto *

""Craig Clunas's exemplary but also extraordinary account reveals the texture of the daily encounters and observations [of Ming dynasty emperors], embedded in a period and culture of which we know still far too little.""--Jessica Rawson, University of Oxford ""This innovative, beautifully illustrated book narrates the history of the Ming dynasty in an emperor-by-emperor format that interweaves personal, familial, and dynastic history. Rigorously researched, it uncovers how individual emperors shaped politics (and vice versa), thereby revealing the palace events and machinations of the Ming in Anglophone prose.""--Jennifer Purtle, University of Toronto ""In this lavishly illustrated book, the author offers us a fresh view of the Ming as a dynastic enterprise. We emerge from it with a new sense of how the political arena was shaped by the workings of the sprawling clan at its heart, continuously sprouting new branches of imperial princes, calculating advantageous marriages, and frequently afflicted by brutal violence. It gives due weight to the importance of women as well as men, and of the dead as well as the living. Sons of Heaven is distinguished by its sense of the strangeness of the past, its eye for discrete but telling deployment of inter-disciplinary insights, and its engagement with the broader vistas of global history.""--Alan Strathern, University of Oxford

In this lavishly illustrated book, the author offers us a fresh view of the Ming as a dynastic enterprise. We emerge from it with a new sense of how the political arena was shaped by the workings of the sprawling clan at its heart, continuously sprouting new branches of imperial princes, calculating advantageous marriages, and frequently afflicted by brutal violence. It gives due weight to the importance of women as well as men, and of the dead as well as the living. Sons of Heaven is distinguished by its sense of the strangeness of the past, its eye for discrete but telling deployment of inter-disciplinary insights, and its engagement with the broader vistas of global history. * Alan Strathern, Professor of Global History, University of Oxford * The vivid details of the lives of Ming dynasty emperors (1368–1644), in contemporary records and rare illustrations, offer us today a unique view of China’s rulers, whose world, hidden in their palaces, could not be seen or imagined by their subjects. Craig Clunas’s exemplary but also extraordinary account reveals the texture of their daily encounters and observations, embedded in a period and culture of which we know still far too little. These emperors remind us too of the sophistication of their immense territory, as it began to enter the imaginations of Europeans. * Jessica Rawson, Professor of Chinese Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford * This innovative, beautifully illustrated book narrates the history of the Ming dynasty in an emperor-by-emperor format that interweaves personal, familial, and dynastic history. Rigorously researched, it uncovers how individual emperors shaped politics (and vice versa), thereby revealing the palace events and machinations of the Ming in Anglophone prose. * Jennifer Purtle, Associate Professor of Chinese and East Asian Art History, University of Toronto *

Author Information

Craig Clunas is Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy. His many books include Screen of Kings: Royal Art and Power in Ming China (Reaktion, 2013).

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