Volumes seven and eight of The Cambridge History of China are devoted to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the only segment of later imperial history during which all of China proper was ruled by a native, or Han, dynasty. These volumes provide the largest and most detailed account of the Ming period in any language. Summarising all modern research, volume eight offers detailed studies of governmental structure, the fiscal and legal systems, international relations, social and economic history, transportation networks, and the history of ideas and religion, incorporating original research on subjects never before described in detail. Although it is written by specialists, this Cambridge History intends to explain and describe the Ming dynasty to general readers who do not have a specialised knowledge of Chinese history, as well as scholars and students. This volume can be utilised as a reference work, or read continuously.

‘This masterful series on China’s imperial history has been appearing steadily over the past two decades … This second Ming volume collects essays dealing with the structure of government, fiscal and legal systems, foreign relations, economics, agriculture, communications, learning and religion … Possibly the best overview of the period is given by Martin Heijdra in a survey of rural socioeconomic conditions that is finely nuanced by the employment of skilfully drawn statistics. Eminently readable, these pages cover many of the key developments in late imperial history.’

Source: The Times Higher Education Supplement