The history of China is as rich and strange as that of any country on earth. Yet for many, China’s history remains unknown, or known only through the stylized images that generations in the West have cherished or reviled as truth.With his command of character and event––the product of thirty years of research and reflection in the field––Spence dispels those myths in a powerful narrative. Over four centuries of Chinese history, from the waning days of the once-glorious Ming Dynasty...

From the renowned historian and author of The Death of Woman Wang, a vivid and gripping account of the 16th-century missionary’s remarkable sojourn to Ming ChinaIn 1577, the Jesuit Priest Matteo Ricci set out from Italy to bring Christian faith and Western thought to Ming dynasty China. To capture the complex emotional and religious drama of Ricci's extraordinary life, Jonathan Spence relates his subject's experiences with several images that Ricci himself created—four images deriv...

“Spence draws upon his extensive knowledge of Chinese politics and culture to create an illuminating picture of Mao. . . . Superb.” (Chicago Tribune)From humble origins in the provinces, Mao Zedong rose to absolute power, unifying with an iron fist a vast country torn apart by years of weak leadership, colonialism, and war. This sharply drawn and insightful account brings to life this modern-day emperor and the tumultuous era that he did so much to shape.

"A magnificent tapestry…a story that reaches beyond China into our world and time: a story of faith, hope, passion, and a fatal grandiosity." —Washington Post Book WorldWhether read for its powerful account of the largest uprising in human history, or for its foreshadowing of the terrible convulsions suffered by twentieth-century China, or for the narrative power of a great historian at his best, God's Chinese Son must be read. At the center of th...

Città di Xi’an, Cina, 28 ottobre 1728: poco prima di mezzogiorno, un palanchino attraversa la lunga via centrale, mentre un uomo vestito curiosamente lo insegue con una corsa affannosa, brandendo in aria una lettera. Alcune guardie lo bloccano, e il destinatario, il generale Yue Zhongqi, governatore delle province di Shaanxi e Sichuan, ordina di arrestarlo. Gli basterà leggere poche righe per intuire i contorni di una gigantesca congiura anti-imperiale e dare il via a una caccia all’uomo c...

Matteo Ricci fu l’uomo che con maggiore determinazione ed efficacia tentò di far comunicare due grandi civiltà – quella europea e quella cinese – che per secoli si erano ritenute autosufficienti. Gesuita, di quell’epoca in cui i gesuiti erano anche uomini temerari, che partivano verso i luoghi più remoti con l’intenzione non soltanto di convertire ma di capire chi vi abitava, patì in Cina traversie di ogni genere ma riuscì a offrire dell’Europa e della cristianità un profilo che si impress...

"Like everything else written by Jonathan Spence, The Chan's Great Continent is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in China. Spence is one of the greatest Sinologists of our time, and his work is both authoritative and highly readable." —Los Angeles Times Book ReviewChina has transfixed the West since the earliest contacts between these civilizations. With his characteristic elegance and insight, Jonathan Spence explores how the West has ...

This lively and elegant book by the acclaimed historian Jonathan D. Spence reconstructs an extraordinary episode in the early intercourse between Europe and China. It is the story of John Hu, a lowly but devout Chinese Catholic, who in 1722 accompanied a Jesuit missionary on a journey to France--a journey that ended with Hu's confinement in a lunatic asylum. At once a triumph of historical detective work and a gripping narrative, The Question of Hu deftly probes the collision of t...

A remarkable re-creation of the life of K'ang-hsi, emperor of the Manchu dynasty from 1661-1772, assembled from documents that survived his reign. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.

一封反清逆書，掀起一場巨大的政治風暴一部曠世奇書，顛倒兩代皇帝的臣民子孫◆****雍正何以將造謠逆賊曾靜帶至宮中坐享榮華，甚至與皇帝聯名出書？◆****乾隆為何違逆父命誅殺曾靜，甚至禁燬雍正頒行的《大義覺迷錄》？◆****一樁曲折離奇的文字獄案，如何捲起滿清皇室與臣民間的重重波瀾？恪守史料，布局奇絕，敘事精妙，文筆流暢以小說筆法書寫歷史──漢學巨擘史景遷作品經典重現──本書聚焦於雍正王朝著名的文字獄案，史氏從文化認同的角度，透過扎實的史料分析與絕妙的小說筆法，回到歷史場景中重審這起離奇案件的始末。湖...

從一樁命案留下的謎團，牽出發生在郯城的悲歡離合。在史料與文學隱藏的細節中，勾勒明末清初的社會樣貌。《婦人王氏之死》是一本在風格和取徑上和傳統歷史研究大不相同的經典之作。史景遷以其高超的敘事技巧和敏銳的感知能力，在僵化的史料背後，重新塑造或捕捉逝去的時空和人物的生命。從兵燹、地震到饑荒，史景遷援引《郯城縣志》、《福惠全書》等史料文獻，建構一座不起眼的山東小縣城的歷史光景，並在章節中穿插《聊齋志異》的玄幻故事，以引人入勝的手法，解剖市井風俗、分析法律訟事，繼而探討女性的地位、情感與社會桎梏。《婦人王氏之死》帶領讀者跟隨官吏、盜匪、仕紳、黎民所留下的足跡，踏查明末清初中國北方民眾的心靈圖像，還原大歷史背後的小人物命運。史景遷使用的資料，看似簡單、平常，但透過他的妙手鋪陳，郯城這個三百多年前，中國北方的一所窮苦的聚落，卻以那樣鮮明強烈的形象，逼近眼前，久久揮拭不去。名家推薦伍佰（音樂人）何致和（作家）吳家恆（數位傳聲製作總監）吳展良（國立臺...

4個記憶形象+3幅聖經版畫從馬切拉塔到臥亞，從肇慶到北京跟隨利瑪竇的人生旅途觀看東西文化交流的歷史圖景出生於新舊教對立、歐洲各國征戰不斷之時代背景下的利瑪竇，1577年從義大利出發，分別在印度、澳門修習後，1583年正式進入中國，直至1610年在北京逝世，此生再未回到故鄉。身為耶穌會士的利瑪竇，致力傳播基督信仰和西方思想，而他最廣為人知的，是為東西文化交流所留下的諸多貢獻。在《利瑪竇的記憶宮殿》中，史景遷援引極為豐富的東西方史料與文獻，運用超卓的敘事技巧，建構栩栩如生的場景，生動的將利瑪竇不凡的一生呈現在讀者眼前，並對十六世紀歐洲的反宗教改革、明朝萬曆年間中國的政治社會情況等複雜歷史，提供了翔實的描述。因此，本書不僅是細膩出色的歷史人物傳記，更是一本教人信服且重要的世界史作品。名家推薦伍佰（音樂人）何致和（作家）吳家恆（數位傳聲製作總監）吳展良（國立臺灣大學歷史學系教授）宋怡慧（新北市立丹鳳高中圖書館...