Describes the social and cultural transformation of seventeenth-century China through the life and work of Li Yu

"No one in the West knows the archives of China's last dynasty better than Professor Bartlett. Monarchs and Ministers affords us one of the first truly informed views of imperial Chinese policy-making from the inside."--Frederic Wakeman, University of California, Berkeley "Monarchs and Ministers is one of those rare works that commands unanimous assent and constitutes a breakthrough."--Pierre-Henri Durand, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris

This work studies one of China's greatest poets, Tu Fu, as both cultural icon and literary genius.

The relationship between the USA and the People's Republic of China (PRC) was the defining factor in the Cold War in Asia - the potentially explosive conflict which, as seen in the Korean War, brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster. The PRC had not become 'Titoist' as some hoped and remained firmly within the Soviet international orbit. But how did Great Britain and the Republic of China (ROC) fit into this potentially lethal global jigsaw? Steve Tsang has illuminated the history of a seemingly obscure corner of international relations and politics but which was, to contempories, at the heart of global survival. He has carried out extensive research in unique Chinese- and English-language sources, both official and private.

This analysis of the interplay among people and of events leading up to the reform acts of 1898--the Hundred Days--and their abrupt termination presents a new interpretation of the late Ch'ing political scene. The Emperor, the Empress-Dowager, and high-court personalities are followed through the maze of motives and relationships that characterized the power structure in Peking. Of special interest is Kwong's treatment of K'ang-Yu-Wei, often viewed as the Emperor's advisor during this period and a major source of reform policy, a prominance largely derived from his own writings and those of Liange Ch'i-ch'ao. Those sources are here examined and shown to be less than objective, and K'ang's role is assessed as far more peripheral than heretofore believed.