Most Popular Books by Jonathan D. Spence

This work chronicles the history of China for over four hundred years through the spring of 1989.

"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 Review China has transfixed the West since the earliest contacts between these civilizations. With his characteristic elegance and insight, Jonathan Spence explores how the West has understood China over seven centuries. Ranging from Marco Polo''s own depiction of China and the mighty Khan, Kublai, in the 1270s to the China sightings of three twentieth-century writers of acknowledged genius-Kafka, Borges, and Calvino-Spence conveys Western thought on China through a remarkable array of expression. Peopling Spence''s account are Iberian adventurers, Enlightenment thinkers, spinners of the dreamy cult of Chinoiserie, and American observers such as Bret Harte, Mark Twain, Ezra Pound, and Eugene O''Neill. Taken together, these China sightings tell us as much about the self-image of the West as about China. "Wonderful. . . . Spence brilliantly demonstrates [how] generation after generation of Westerners [have] asked themselves, ''What is it . . . that held this astonishing, diverse, and immensely populous land together?'' "--New York Times Book Review

“A milestone in Western studies of China.” (John K. Fairbank) In this masterful, highly original approach to modern Chinese history, Jonathan D. Spence shows us the Chinese revolution through the eyes of its most articulate participants—the writers, historians, philosophers, and insurrectionists who shaped and were shaped by the turbulent events of the twentieth century. By skillfully combining literary materials with more conventional sources of political and social history, Spence provides an unparalleled look at China and her people and offers valuable insight into the continuing conflict between the implacable power of the state and the strivings of China''s artists, writers, and thinkers.

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.

“A savory, fascinating story of absolute rule, one that not only reveals a great deal about China’s turbulent past but also suggests where some of the more durable reflexes of China’s current leaders have their roots. . . . A detective yarn and a picaresque tale.” (Richard Bernstein, The New York Times) Shortly before noon on October 28, 1728, General Yue Zhongqi, the most powerful military and civilian official in northwest China, was en route to his headquarters. Suddenly, out of the crowd, a stranger ran toward Yue and passed him an envelope—an envelope containing details of a treasonous plot to overthrow the Manchu government. This thrilling story of a conspiracy against the Qing dynasty in 1728 is a captivating tale of intrigue and a fascinating exploration of what it means to rule and be ruled. Once again, Jonathan Spence has created a vivid portrait of the rich culture that surrounds a most dramatic moment in Chinese history.

Traditional Chinese edition of China scholar and Yale Professor Jonathan Spence''s Ts''ao Yin and the K''ang-hsi Emperor: Bondservant and Master. Spence recounts the relationship between Cao Yin, the author of the Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber, and the imperial Qing court under Emperor Kangxi. It''s a fascinating look at the social and political structure and events of the late 17 and early 18th century China. In Traditional Chinese. Annotation copyright Tsai Fong Books, Inc. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

“Spence shows himself at once historian, detective, and artist. . . . He makes history howl.” (The New Republic) Award-winning author Jonathan D. Spence paints a vivid picture of an obscure place and time: provincial China in the seventeenth century. Life in the northeastern county of T’an-ch’eng emerges here as an endless cycle of floods, plagues, crop failures, banditry, and heavy taxation. Against this turbulent background a tenacious tax collector, an irascible farmer, and an unhappy wife act out a poignant drama at whose climax the wife, having run away from her husband, returns to him, only to die at his hands. Magnificently evoking the China of long ago, The Death of Woman Wang also deepens our understanding of the China we know today.

"If one has the art, then a piece of celery or salted cabbage can be made into a marvelous delicacy; whereas if one has not the art, not all the greatest delicacies and rarities of land, sea, or sky are of any avail." --a Beijing cook, nineteenth century from Chinese Roundabout

“Splendid . . . One could not imagine a better subject than Zhan Dai for Spence.” (The New Republic) Celebrated China scholar Jonathan Spence vividly brings to life seventeenth-century China through this biography of Zhang Dai, recognized as one of the finest historians and essayists of the Ming dynasty. Born in 1597, Zhang Dai was forty-seven when the Ming dynasty, after more than two hundred years of rule, was overthrown by the Manchu invasion of 1644. Having lost his fortune and way of life, Zhang Dai fled to the countryside and spent his final forty years recounting the time of creativity and renaissance during Ming rule before the violent upheaval of its collapse. This absorbing tale of Zhang Dai’s life illuminates the transformation of a culture and reveals how China’s history affects its place in the world today.

A powerful account of the largest uprising in human history--the Taiping rebellion (1845-64)--in which 20 million Chinese were left dead, God''s Chinese Son tells "a story that reaches beyond China into our world and time; a story of faith, hope, passion, and a fatal grandiosity" (Washington Post Book World). Photos. Author lectures & tour.

From “the best known and most talented historian of China writing in English today” (Los Angeles Times), an examination of a diverse collection of Western foreigners who attempted “to change China” "To change China" was the goal of foreign missionaries, soldiers, doctors, teachers, engineers, and revolutionaries for more than three hundred years. But the Chinese, while eagerly accepting Western technical advice, clung steadfastly to their own religious and cultural traditions. As a new era of relations between China and the United States begins, the tales in this volume will serve as cautionary histories for businessmen, diplomats, students, or any other foreigners who foolishly believe that they can transform this vast, enigmatic country.

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 China In 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 derived from the events in the Bible and others from a book on the art of memory that Ricci wrote in Chinese and circulated among members of the Ming dynasty elite. A rich and compelling narrative about a fascinating life, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci is also a significant work of global history, juxtaposing the world of Counter-Reformation Europe with that of Ming China.

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 tw ocultures, with their different definitions of faith, madness, and moral obligation.

Encapsulating the themes of his 1996 book, God''s Chinese Son, Jonathan Spence, in this Edmondson Historical Lecture, interprets the social and political milieu of mid-nineteenth-century China that gave rise to the apocalyptic Taiping Rebellion. Here, Spence traces the events surrounding the life of Hong Xiuquan, the self-styled heavenly king who had learned through his encounter with Christian religious texts that he was not only a religious leader, but also the younger brother of Jesus. Hong''s rise to power in southern China eventually led to his military seizure of one of China''s largest cities, Nanjing, where he established his heavenly capital on earth for eleven years. Included in this study is the author''s analysis of Hong''s intellectual development. Spence gives special attention to Hong''s introduction to Christian texts and his eventual use of Christian scripture to interpret his role as God''s Chinese Son. Spence poignantly articulates how Hong interpreted Scripture not only to maintain his spiritual and political leadership over his followers but also to anticipate the apocalyptic conclusion to his earthly kingdom.

The author of the best-selling Why the West Rules—for Now theorizes on the effect that the evolution of human values has had on democracy and gender equality in the 10,000 years prior to the nineteenth century.

"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. Jonathan Spence captures Mao in all his paradoxical grandeur and sheds light on the radical transformation he unleashed that still reverberates in China today.

The Taiping uprising in China, led by Hong Xiuquan, was a massive movement that, in its violent rise & fall between 1845 & 1864, cost 20 million Chinese their lives. The Taiping succeeded in overturning the authority of the ruling Qing dynasty throughout a massive territory in southern China. This the Taiping ruled as their Heavenly Kingdom from their seat in Nanjing for 11 years, until they were overcome. Spence takes us into the fevered dream world of Hong Xiuquan. Hong''s movement ignites the volatile situation of a China ruled by a dynasty in decline, beset by pirates & bandits, pressed by Western traders to embrace opium, Western missionaries the word of God, & arms dealers the new weapons of the industrial revolution. Illustrations.

China is one of the great question marks on the world stage as we approach the third millennium. No longer a sleeping giant, neither is China a stable ally of the West. Economically it is an emerging powerhouse, and politically it is precariously balanced between the free market and military dictatorship. There could be no better time to try to understand China''s history--the distance it has traveled, and where it may be going from here--than today. The Chinese Century tells the story in over two hundred and fifty rare, eloquent photographs that have been chosen from archives, libraries, and private collections throughout China, Taiwan, and the West. Many of the photographs have never been seen outside China. Like a time machine, they let us see historical events that for most of us have existed until now only in words: the lives of the rural peasants and the privileged elite from the time of the Qing dynasty to the People''s Republic, the opulence and squalor that the European colonial powers brought to China in their concession areas, the cities within Chinese cities that were inhabited exclusively by Europeans. Here are the rare photos of the Boxer Rebellion and the Rape of Nanking, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. There are quirky moments, as well, such as American soldiers during the Second World War eating their K rations with chopsticks, and private photographs of Mao Zedong covered in river mud after a leisurely swim. The photographs are paired with a stunning historical text by one of the West''s most respected China scholars, Jonathan D. Spence, writing here for the first time with his wife, Annping Chin. The narrative traces the nation''s disintegration into civil and world war, Communist revolution, and its slow reemergence as a military and economic superpower. Focusing on the lives of ordinary Chinese as well as on the towering figures such as Chiang Kai-shek and Meo Zedong, Spence weaves an intricate and fascinating social, political, and military history.

Between 1850 and today, China has undergone an unprecedented series of shocks and transformations. Published to accompany an exhibition at the Guggenheum Museum, this book systematically explores 150 years of artistic production in China.