Biography of Zhu Yuanzhang
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Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Deep readers with a strong interest in Ming history or the history of Chinese emperors
- Readers who appreciate biographies that combine scholarly rigor with literary readability
- Thinkers who hope to discern the mechanisms of history and the logic of power through individual destinies
- Professionals in management, politics, or historical research who need historical cases and lessons
Not a good fit for
- Casual readers seeking light, entertaining historical stories or palace gossip
- Readers expecting wholly positive praise or one-sided negative judgment of historical figures
Reading tips
- Read alongside sources on early Ming social and economic history or maps to build a more three-dimensional sense of time and place.
- Pay attention to the key turning points in the analysis of Zhu Yuanzhang's personality changes, and consider how circumstances and status reshape a person.
- After reading, pause to consider: did the author Wu Han's own historical situation subtly influence his interpretation of certain policies of Zhu Yuanzhang?
About the publisher
Hunan People's Publishing House is a publisher known for its strengths in the humanities and social sciences and in translated classic works. Its catalog covers biography, Eastern philosophy, philosophical reading, social fiction, classics, and essays, with a particular focus on introducing major foreign works of thought and literary classics. Representative titles include Stefan Zweig's Decisive Moments in History and The Struggle with the Daemon: Hölderlin, Kleist, Nietzsche, Albert Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus, Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness, and Seneca's On the Shortness of Life, alongside multiple volumes of selected fiction by Shen Congwen. Among the translators and authors represented are Liang Xijiang, Yuan Xiaoyi, Yi Siting, Pan Lu, and Ren Guoqiang. Beyond the 142 titles in this catalog, public information is limited, so no further publishing details are given here.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 《朱元璋传》重版序言
- 第一章 小流氓
- 一 小沙弥
- 二 游方僧
- 三 逼上梁山
- 第二章 红军大帅
- 一 小亲兵
- 二 小军官
- 三 大元帅、大丞相
- 第三章 从吴国公到吴王
- 一 鄱阳湖决战
- 二 取东吴
- 三 南征北伐
- 第四章 大皇帝的统治术
- 一 大明帝国和明教
- 二 农民被出卖了！
- 三 新官僚养成所
- 四 皇权的轮子——军队
- 五 皇权的轮子——新官僚机构
- 六 建都和国防
- 七 大一统和分化政策
- 第五章 恐怖政治
- 一 大屠杀
- 二 文字狱
- 三 特务网
- 四 皇权的极峰
- 第六章 家庭生活
- 一 马皇后
- 二 皇子皇孙
- 三 教养和性格
- 四 晚年的悲哀
- 附录 朱元璋年表
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About the author
Wu Han (1909–1969), originally named Wu Chunhan and styled Chenbo, was a native of Yiwu, Zhejiang, and a Chinese historian and social activist who was one of the pioneers of modern Ming studies. After graduating from the Department of History at Tsinghua University in 1934, he taught at Yunnan University, National Southwestern Associated University, and Tsinghua University, and later served as vice mayor of Beijing. His research centered on Ming politics and institutions. His representative work, Biography of Zhu Yuanzhang, combines textual criticism with vivid character portrayal, while monographs such as A Study of the Hu Weiyong Clique Case, The Ming Military, and Zhu Yuanzhang's Art of Rule show his rigorous approach to history through institutional operation and power relations. He also wrote popular historical works, including the nine-volume Chinese History Series and The Mirror of History, whose plain, clear prose blends scholarship with readability and has done much to spread knowledge of Ming history.
