The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions

by Evelyn S. Rawski

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was the last and arguably the greatest of the conquest dynasties to rule China. Its rulers, Manchus from the north, held power for three centuries despite major cultural and ideological differences with the Han majority. In this book, Evelyn Rawski offers a bold new interpretation of the remarkable success of this dynasty, arguing that it derived not from the assimilation of the dominant Chinese culture, as has previously been believed, but rather from an artful synthesis of Manchu leadership styles with Han Chinese policies.

Genres: China, History

466 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 1998

Reviews

[Eressea · Rating 4 out of 5]

飛快的讀完這本書
由於想講的事情太多
注定無法太深入
不過對於我來說
本來就似懂非懂的
能有本百科全書式的書
介紹大清統治者的各方面
也是很不錯的

可惜的是皇帝與突厥系穆斯林的交往寫得太少了
宗教那邊本來以為有專章介紹
結果只寫了寥寥數行，我好失望啊

這些翻譯過來的新清史
除了嘉裕關外專講新疆之外
都對伊斯蘭在大清著墨太少
可惜，不知道英文原著是否多一點?

[Tsai Wei-chieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

八旗文化即將推出The Last Emperors一書的正體修訂版。據總編富察表示，簡繁版本的差別在於以簡版為基礎，想盡可能地把簡體版中的不準確表述一一修訂。2009年人大社簡體版最大的問題是，用「漢族」的概念替換「中國」，用「中國內部的滿漢問題」來處理本書，可這恰恰和作者的意思相反。另外還修訂了書中非漢語詞彙的中譯。參與了繁體中文平裝版的修訂，至少改了數十處精裝版的錯誤。如果就學術上而言，這本平裝版應該比較好用。不過精裝版印得不錯，還是有收藏價值。

[Chyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

该书可视为Rawski教授满清“非汉化”观点的详解，论述面面俱到，但失之于浅，且有不少讹误。

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really loved every other book by Rawski that I've read. She's written (and co-edited) some fantastic books on Chinese religion and ritual and I was very excited to find this one, which was published a few years ago but somehow I'd missed it. The book draws heavily from the Manchu language documents of the Qing court that have only been made availble to researchers in the past few decades. As such Rawski challenges previous perceptions of the Qing, looking at how they uniquely handled the questions of imperial power. She looked at what made the dynasty unique and how rather than a closed system it was a large multi-cultural govenernment. The book was divided into three sections material culture, social organisation and court rituals. The first section looked at how the Qing ruled, the 2nd covered a great deal of detail of the bannermen organisations and the women and slaves in the Imperial court. It was interseting to see how much more independence Manchu women had (for example they could own property and sue for divorce as well as fight in the military). The section on slaves and eunchs was also really interseting, particularly when it showed how the careful rules of the Imperial Palace weren't followed. But it was the third section that was by far the most interseting to me. I had not previously been aware of the Manchu shamanistic religion. It was interesting to see how this became regulated by the Qing court, how they took away the ecstatic element to the religion (which some would say was necessary for shamanism) and encouraged women shamans. It was also interseting to see how the most popular form of Buddhism at this time was Tibetan Buddhism and the role the Qing government played in helping to establish the Lama's control over Tibet. It was interesting to see the different ways the Qing used religion to establish their right to rule over different countries and ethnicities. One thing I initially thought was missing was the ritual performed by all these Tibetan Buddhists, but this was covered in the private rituals chapter later in the section. I had no idea Tibetan Buddhism was so popular in Qing times, though I was left unclear if this was just at the level of the court or if it was the populace as well. I really enjoyed the last section and it made me want to read much more about Qing religion, Qing is one of the dynasties I usually have least interest in, however, this book definitely renewed my interest in it.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly excellent look at the background, institutions and factors influencing China's last dynasty, the Qing, examining in depth the factors that contributed to the early success of this foreign (Manchu) dynasty after the fall of the Ming in 1644. Covers such topics as the role of the 8 banners, women, marriage, shamanism, Confucianism and Confucian state rituals, city planning, kinship and primogeniture in the Manchu world. Also provides many examples from the reigns of the dynasty's most famous rulers--Kangxi and Qianlong. Very well researched, well written, and the perfect book to introduce the last of China's great dynasties.

[Pj Mensel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely dry and fact filled history of what the title says. But the detail (which is amazing) truly gives you a sense of the incredibly complex organization of the Qing Imperial Institutions. Definitely worth it. You can pick it up and put it down based on selected topics. Took me awhile to complete as I read half in the summer of 2015 and half this summer.

Reread. Like much more. Sometime you need dry history. Tremendously well researched. So upped to four stars

[Ig-88 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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