Inside the lives, scandals, and splendor of Ming China’s imperial ruling family.Sons of Heavenis the first accessible, newly researched account in English of the imperial family who ruled Ming China (1368–1644), one of the country’s most dynamic and influential eras. Beginning with a fresh look at what a dynasty really was, the book follows the lives of emperors, empresses, relatives, and those who came into the imperial orbit. Uniquely drawing from official and unofficial Chinese primary sources, including gossip-rich “wild histories,” it presents a more intimate, complex picture of court life—its politics, personalities, and pleasures. Moving beyond stereotypes, the book highlights the power, intrigue, and humanity of Ming rule. Richly illustrated with period art that brings the imperial world to life, this book is a compelling portrait of dynasty as lived reality.
Craig Clunasis professor emeritus of the history of art at the University of Oxford and a fellow of the British Academy. His many books include
Screen of Kings: Royal Art and Power in Ming China, also published by Reaktion Books.
"Craig Clunas’s exemplary but also extraordinary account reveals the texture of the daily encounters and observations [of Ming dynasty emperors], embedded in a period and culture of which we know still far too little."
"This innovative, beautifully illustrated book narrates the history of the Ming dynasty in an emperor-by-emperor format that interweaves personal, familial, and dynastic history. Rigorously researched, it uncovers how individual emperors shaped politics (and vice versa), thereby revealing the palace events and machinations of the Ming in Anglophone prose."
"In this lavishly illustrated book, the author offers us a fresh view of the Ming as a dynastic enterprise. We emerge from it with a new sense of how the political arena was shaped bylóe
![Sons of Heaven: Family and Dynasty in Ming China [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/1/9/2/2_7280793.jpg "Sons of Heaven: Family and Dynasty in Ming China [Hardcover]")