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Three Impeachments

Guo Xiu and the Kangxi Court

By R. Kent Guy

A probe into corruption in late Imperial China

At the beginning of China's long eighteenth century or "High Qing" era, a time of peace and prosperity when the foundations of Manchu rule under the Qing dynasty...

The Dong World and Imperial China’s Southwest Silk Road

Trade, Security, and State Formation

By James A. Anderson

Brings a borderlands perspective to the history of China

From the eighth to thirteenth centuries along China’s rugged southern periphery, trade in tribute articles and an interregional horse market thrived. These ties dramatically affected imperial China’s...

Good Formulas

Empirical Evidence in Mid-Imperial Chinese Medical Texts

By Ruth Yun-Ju Chen

How early print culture reshaped strategies for presenting medical knowledge

Why and how did the strategy of documenting medical practices through personal experience rise to prominence in China? This question is at the heart of Good...

Porcelain for the Emperor

Manufacture and Technocracy in Qing China

By Kai Jun Chen

A new perspective for understanding the technology behind goods “made in China”

The exquisite ceramic ware produced at the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory at Jingdezhen in southern China functioned as a kind of visual propaganda for the...

The Many Lives of the First Emperor of China

By Anthony J. Barbieri-Low

Tyrant or national hero? An interdisciplinary exploration of China's First Emperor

Ying Zheng, founder of the Qin empire, is recognized as a pivotal figure in world history, alongside other notable conquerors such as Alexander the Great,...

A Ming Confucian’s World

Selections from Miscellaneous Records from the Bean Garden

By Lu Rong. Translated and introduced by Mark Halperin

A forgotten century marks the years between the Ming dynasty's (1368–1644) turbulent founding and its sixteenth-century age of exploration and economic transformation. In this period of social stability, retired scholar-official Lu Rong chronicled his observations...

Healing with Poisons

Potent Medicines in Medieval China

By Yan Liu

Winner of the 2023 William H. Welch Medal, sponsored by the American Association for the History of Medicine

A revealing study of risky cures in classical Chinese pharmacy

At first glance, medicine and poison might seem to...

The Empress in the Pepper Chamber

Zhao Feiyan in History and Fiction

By Olivia Milburn

An infamous Chinese femme fatale, in history and fiction

Zhao Feiyan (45–1 BCE), the second empress appointed by Emperor Cheng of the Han dynasty (207 BCE–220 CE), was born in slavery and trained in the performing...

Bronze Mirrors in Ancient China

Artistry and Technique

By Kin Sum Li

Examines mass production in antiquity

Highly decorated mirrors are widely sought by museums with collections of Chinese art and are the most actively exchanged items in the art market of ancient Chinese bronzes. Featuring intricate designs...