{"title":"Shih-Shan Henry Tsai","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"perpetual-happiness-book-shih-shan-henry-tsai-9780295981093","title":"Perpetual Happiness","description":"The reign of Emperor Yongle, or \"Perpetual Happiness\" - which began with a civil war and a bloody coup, and saw the construction of the Forbidden City, completion of the Grand Canal, and consolidation of the imperial bureaucracy - was one of the most dramatic and significant in Chinese history. In 1368 Yongle's father, the Buddhist monk Zhu Yuanzhang, led the rebels who reclaimed China from the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty and reigned for 30 years as Emperor Hongwu, establishing the Ming dynasty. But Yongle (Zhu Di, 1360-1424) did not directly succeed his father; the throne first passed briefly to Yongle's nephew, Emperor Jianwen, whom Yongle drove from the palace (and possibly murdered) in 1402. The strong, centralised, autocratic government set up by his father and developed by Yongle - which concentrated power in the emperor, his eunuch assistants, and the scholar-advisors of the Grand Secretariat - lasted for more than two centuries. Yongle moved China's capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1421, where he constructed the magnificent Forbidden City, in which twenty-three successive emperors would reside. He rebuilt the Grand Canal, directly linking the new capital to the fertile Yangzi Delta and facilitating grain shipments for Beijing's burgeoning population. He relentlessly pursued expansion of China's territory into Mongolia, Manchuria, and Vietnam, and sent the admiral Zheng He on six voyages - each employing more than sixty vessels - to Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, establishing contact with places as distant as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and Somalia in Africa. As an expression of his wish to emulate the sage-kings of Chinese antiquity, Yongle sponsored numerous literary projects, the most ambitious of which was \"The Grand Encyclopaedia of Yongle\" (Yongle dadian), a compendium of 11,095 volumes on all fields of knowledge. Beginning with an hour-by-hour account of one day in Yongle's court, Shih-shan Henry Tsai presents the multiple dimensions of Yongle's life in fascinating detail. Tsai examines the role of birth, education, and tradition in moulding the emperor's personality and values, and paints a rich portrait of a man characterised by stark contrasts. Synthesising primary and secondary source materials, he has crafted a colourful biography that enhances our understanding of imperial China in general and the early Ming dynasty in particular. \"Perpetual Happiness\" will captivate all who enjoy historical biography, and will be of interest to specialists in history and Asian studies. Shih-shan Henry Tsai is professor of history and director of Asian studies at the University of Arkansas. He is the author of four books, including \"Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty\".","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50347758846225,"sku":"CIN0295981091G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0295981091.jpg?v=1750909295"},{"product_id":"perpetual-happiness-book-shih-shan-henry-tsai-9780295981246","title":"Perpetual Happiness","description":"The reign of Emperor Yongle, or “Perpetual Happiness,” was one of the most dramatic and significant in Chinese history. It began with civil war and a bloody coup, saw the construction of the Forbidden City, the completion of the Grand Canal, consolidation of the imperial bureaucracy, and expansion of China’s territory into Mongolia, Manchuria, and Vietnam.  Beginning with an hour-by-hour account of one day in Yongle’s court, Shih-shan Henry Tsai presents the multiple dimensions of the life of Yongle (Zhu Di, 1360-1424) in fascinating detail. Tsai examines the role of birth, education, and tradition in molding the emperor’s personality and values, and paints a rich portrait of a man characterized by stark contrasts. Synthesizing primary and secondary source materials, he has crafted a colorful biography of the most renowned of the Ming emperors.  The open access publication of this book was made possible by a grant from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50347771199761,"sku":"CIN0295981245G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50914413904145,"sku":"GOR006470301","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000662262033,"sku":"NIN9780295981246","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52843997397265,"sku":"GOR014638278","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0333751345.jpg?v=1767175437"},{"product_id":"maritime-taiwan-book-shih-shan-henry-tsai-9780765623294","title":"Maritime Taiwan","description":"For centuries the island of Taiwan, 100 miles off the Asian mainland, has been a crossroads for traders and settlers, pirates and military schemers from around the world. Unlike China, with its long tradition of keeping foreigners out, Taiwan has a long history of interaction, both hostile and friendly, with other seafaring nations near and far. \"Maritime Taiwan\" captures the full drama and details of this remarkable history. It's filled with fascinating stories of foreign adventurers and echoes the bitter songs of Taiwan's aboriginal population, confronted by the convergence of different maritime cultures and values on the island.Here are accounts of the legendary pirate Koxinga, the Chinese junk trade, the mighty Dutch East India Company, British opium traders and Scottish tea merchants, Jesuit priests and Presbyterian missionaries, A French fleet commander, a Japanese colonial administrator, an American aid official, and many more. Here too is an extraordinary view of Taiwan over the centuries, as its distinct identity, culture, and values were shaped by its unique history. Today, with a population of only 23 million, Taiwan is the world's nineteenth largest economy, a vibrant, relatively free society on the strategic route between China and Southeast Asia. Maritime Taiwan also discusses the significant impact of American military, economic, educational, and technological aid on Taiwan's developments and addresses the island's continued importance in maintaining the U.S. hegemony in East Asia.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50364109488401,"sku":"CIN0765623293A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52522528342289,"sku":"NLS9780765623294","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52739988062481,"sku":"NIN9780765623294","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0765623293.jpg?v=1750745166"},{"product_id":"eunuchs-in-the-ming-dynasty-book-shih-shan-henry-tsai-9780791426883","title":"The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty","description":"This study of Chinese eunuchs illuminates the entire history of the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, and provides broad information on various aspects of pre-modern China.  This book is the first on Chinese eunuchs in English and presents a comprehensive picture of the role that they played in the Ming dynasty, 1368-1644. Extracted from a wide range of primary and secondary source material, the author provides significant and interesting information about court politics, espionage and internal security, military and foreign affairs, tax and tribute collection, the operation of imperial monopolies, judiciary review, the layout of the palace complex, the Grand Canal, and much more.  The eunuchs are shown to be not just a minor adjunct to a government of civil servants and military officers, but a fully developed third branch of the Ming administration that participated in all of the most essential matters of the dynasty. The veil of condemnation and jealousy imposed on eunuchs by the compilers of official history is pulled away to reveal a richly textured tapestry. Eunuchs are portrayed in a balanced manner that gives due consideration to able and faithful service along with the inept, the lurid, and the iniquitous.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51007149375761,"sku":"NIN9780791426883","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51821193691409,"sku":"CIN0791426882G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52152564482321,"sku":"NLS9780791426883","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52849198956817,"sku":"GOR007435123","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0791426882.jpg?v=1751233325"},{"product_id":"maritime-taiwan-book-shih-shan-henry-tsai-9780765623287","title":"Maritime Taiwan","description":"For centuries the island of Taiwan, 100 miles off the Asian mainland, has been a crossroads for traders and settlers, pirates and military schemers from around the world. Unlike China, with its long tradition of keeping foreigners out, Taiwan has a long history of interaction, both hostile and friendly, with other seafaring nations near and far. \"Maritime Taiwan\" captures the full drama and details of this remarkable history. It's filled with fascinating stories of foreign adventurers and echoes the bitter songs of Taiwan's aboriginal population, confronted by the convergence of different maritime cultures and values on the island.Here are accounts of the legendary pirate Koxinga, the Chinese junk trade, the mighty Dutch East India Company, British opium traders and Scottish tea merchants, Jesuit priests and Presbyterian missionaries, A French fleet commander, a Japanese colonial administrator, an American aid official, and many more. Here too is an extraordinary view of Taiwan over the centuries, as its distinct identity, culture, and values were shaped by its unique history. Today, with a population of only 23 million, Taiwan is the world's nineteenth largest economy, a vibrant, relatively free society on the strategic route between China and Southeast Asia. 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