The Art of Being Governed: Everyday Politics in Late Imperial China

How did ordinary people in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) deal with the demands of the state? This book explores the ways that families fulfilled their obligations to provide a soldier to the army. The complex strategies they developed suggest a new interpretation of an important period in China’s history as well as a broader theory of politics. Combining traditional scholarship with innovative fieldwork where descendants of Ming subjects still live, it illustrates the ways that arrangements between communities and the state hundreds of years ago have consequences and relevance for how we look at diverse cultures and societies, even today.