"Ming Dynasty under the Microscope" Author: Ma Boyong Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House Douban Books Top 250

Introduction

★ Ma Boyong's new historical documentary work, a Ming Dynasty history book worth collecting

★ Six little-known Ming Dynasty archives, six long-forgotten stories of people's livelihood

★ A vivid manual on grassroots governance, understanding the true ancient China in detail

★ This book is told in a leisurely manner, with meticulous writing. Readers can also weave a complex Ming Empire from one detail after another. —— Zhang Hongjie

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This book tells the stories of six grassroots political events in the Ming Dynasty that are hidden deep in piles of old papers.

The author unearthed these long-forgotten stories from a series of rare folk archives from the Ming Dynasty. These archives are a unique miracle in Chinese history. They focus on the political life of ordinary people and are extremely detailed. Here, we can see the simple demands of the people, the cunning folk wisdom, the dirty tactics of the clerks, and the subtle balance of the officialdom. From countless real details, a very vivid picture of the political ecology is presented.

These six events focus on a prefecture, a county, or even a village, and record the real political life of the lowest-level civilians: how they rise up in anger to fight against unfair taxation; how they initiate lawsuits when their family rights are damaged; how they deal with the government when political interests conflict with commercial interests; and how they falsify and profit from the rectification of household registration by the imperial court...

"The Scholar Must Die: The Story of Huizhou Silk Case": During the Wanli period, an unfair taxation policy caused a long-lasting chaos in Huizhou Prefecture. It was a game of chess among many interest groups, including the rioters, county officials, prefectures, the Ministry of Revenue, the Prime Minister, and the emperor.

"The Choice between Pen and Ash - The Battle to Defend the Dragon Vein of Wuyuan": An economic dispute in Wuyuan County that lasted for 64 years reflects how a county-level official balances the interests of a county on major issues.

"Who Moved My Ancestral Temple - Yangganyuan Legal Affairs": A case of dispute over private temple property in She County. In this lawsuit that lasted for eight years, both parties showed their strengths and put in all their efforts to stage a wonderful Jiajing legal drama.

"The World is Transparent: The Past and Present of the First Archives of the Ming Dynasty": The whole process of the establishment and decline of the Ming Dynasty Huangce Library, an unpopular institution located in Houhu Lake (Xuanwu Lake). Learn how the grassroots governance of the Ming Dynasty collapsed step by step.

"The Feast of Clerks: The Fraud Case of Petty Clerks in Peng County": A lawsuit that could not be any smaller attracted the bites of countless greedy mosquitoes. The evil of the clerks was portrayed vividly.

"Four Righteous Souls during the Zhengtong Period": How four innocent civilians were dragged into the court struggle.

The author tries to use a calm and restrained zero-degree narrative to write biographies for those ants who were born in the dust and died in obscurity, and to convey their voices that are lost in the grand history. If you want to understand the Ming Dynasty and ancient Chinese politics, you can't just focus on the court, but also listen to the cries of the lowest level. The most real rules are hidden in the experiences of ordinary people.

About the Author

Ma Boyong: Writer. Winner of the People's Literature Award, Zhu Ziqing Prose Award, and Galaxy Award, he is known as a "literary genius". He was rated as following the "lineage of historical literary creation since the May Fourth Movement" and "his writing style is full of fun". Representative works: "Ming Dynasty Under the Microscope", "The Twelve Hours in Chang'an", "The Antique Bureau", "Secrets of the Three Kingdoms", "The Wind Rises in Longxi", "Grassland Zoo"

Table of contents

The top student must die - the whole story of the Huizhou silk case The choice between pen and ash - the battle to defend the dragon vein in Wuyuan Who moved my ancestral temple - Yangganyuan Legal affairs The world is transparent - the past and present of the first archive of the Ming Dynasty The feast of clerks - the fraud case of petty officials in Peng County Four wronged souls during the Zhengtong period