The Great Enterprise, 2 Volume Boxed Set: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China

by Frederic E. Wakeman Jr.

In classical Chinese, The Great Enterprise means winning The Mandate of Heaven to rule over China, the Central Kingdom. This two-volume work on The Great Enterprise of the Manchus is the first scholarly narrative in any language relating their conquest of China during the seventeenth century. It begins with the rise of the Manchus along the frontiers of the of the great Ming empire in the 1580s, and it ends with the final consolidation of the Qing dynasty after the suppression of the Three Feudatories a century later. Precisely how a relative handful of barbarian interlopers built the final dynasty of the most populous society on earth is a major theme of his work.

The fall of the Ming and the rise of the Qing empires was China's most dramatic dynastic transition, but it was also a conjunction of events that decisively altered China's later direction--even after the impact of the West in the nineteenth century. Chinese still look back today to the colorful but tragic history of the seventeenth century for political inspiration and national identity. Everyone interested in learning about the roots of China's modern culture will want to read this book, as will those who are concerned with the comparative history of empires.

Genres: History, China

1142 pages, Hardcover

First published January 22, 1986

About the author

Frederic Evans Wakeman, Jr. (Chinese: 魏斐德; pinyin: Wèi Fěidé) was a prominent American scholar of East Asian history and Professor of History at University of California, Berkeley.

His father was the novelist Frederic E. Wakeman, Sr. (publishing as "Frederic Wakeman")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederi...

Reviews

[Song · Rating 5 out of 5]

良史，巨著。能把明清鼎革这么巨大、复杂的历史巨变写清楚，客观公允地阐明其历史内在逻辑，非大才而不能。魏斐德先生参考了几百上千种中西著作，各种引用和参考本身就令人咋舌。这种视野广阔和重视中国以外的中国历史研究成果，也是西方汉学家的优势之一。另外作者超脱于中国民族和政治对历史的干扰，评论客观公允，论述全面精当，也是相当难得的优点。

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

如果说之前读的清开国史是成王败寇修正史，那么这部书确实冷静客观丰盈的清史，对于导致明亡的盟社-党争-缙绅的政治到经济的链条梳理，对于清针对此有限制的财政，法律和经济改革，以及为了平衡满汉巧妙的帝王权术.另一方面作者认为相对主义的道德观强烈意识在合理制度缺失下反而会导致政治的混乱，而无实效.

[WaldenOgre · Rating 4 out of 5]

全书结构松散，似乎缺少一种通透的大局感和历史观，但很可能作者本就无意于此。又好在史料丰富，细节众多，或颇可玩味，或叫人唏嘘不已。

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

孔孟之乡山东士大夫的容易变节，与江南士大夫的虚伪。统计表很有意思。江南士大夫并不是坚守节烈，而是没有机会早些投降而已。

[Deepspace9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

二十多岁时第一次读到，跟国内历史书不太一样的视角

[Augustus Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

legendary book from the legendary sinologist on the topic of the late Ming dynasty. Not all dynasty founders can carry the heavy "天命". But Manchu did it.

[Jiro]

治乱轮回之交，秩序输入为大一统续命

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s structural and factual, full of details investigations but not hard to read. A must read history book for both Chinese and Manchu studies.