Hong Taiji

Name: Hong Taiji
ISBN: 9787520532730

徐彻China Culture and History Press · ChinaOct 2024

4.1

Word count: 233K words
Chapters: 46
ISBN: 9787520532730

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Summary

This book chronicles the vigorous and eventful life of Hong Taiji. From childhood he followed his father on southern campaigns, riding and shooting across the Northeast, and contributed much to the unification of the Jurchen tribes. After succeeding to the Khanate of the Later Jin, he pursued vigorous reforms and devoted himself to governance, realizing his ideal of founding the Great Qing. He could assess the situation, seize the moment, and handle civil and military affairs of state. He was especially broad-minded in embracing Han Chinese and in viewing Han culture correctly. His success was no accident. The book is faithful to historical documents while offering vivid narrative and skillful structure, thereby creating a three-dimensional portrait of a Qing emperor and providing important insight into the Qing emperors and the characteristics of their era.

Editor's review

This book follows the life of Hong Taiji as its main thread, tracing his path from campaigning alongside his father and unifying the Jurchen tribes to inheriting the Later Jin throne, where he pursued vigorous reforms and founded the Qing dynasty. It combines analysis of institutions and military-political affairs with attention to character and decisive action. Grounded in faithful use of historical sources, the author adopts vivid storytelling and a well-crafted structure so that readers are not bogged down in tedious textual criticism but can follow events as they unfold and understand how Hong Taiji assessed situations and handled civil and military affairs. The book particularly highlights his broad-mindedness in accepting Han Chinese and in viewing Han culture correctly, which offers an important key to understanding the political configuration of the early Qing. For readers who wish to approach early Qing history through a single figure, this book provides a relatively complete historical thread and helps grasp the features of the era and institutional change. It can serve as a biographical entry point to early Qing political history; reading it alongside other studies of institutional history or of the Ming-Qing transition will yield a more solid understanding.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General history readers interested in the founding history of the Qing and early Qing political institutions
Students and teachers who wish to understand the Ming-Qing transition through biography
Readers of literature and history who want to learn about Hong Taiji's reforms and Han cultural policy
Biography readers who enjoy vivid narrative balanced with historical sources and readability

Not a good fit for

Professional researchers seeking purely academic textual criticism or item-by-item analysis of large quantities of primary archives
Casual readers who want only light, dramatized storytelling and lack patience for historical context
Readers entirely unfamiliar with Northeast ethnic history and Later Jin institutions who are unwilling to fill in the background

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and conclusion to establish the stages of Hong Taiji's life, then return to read chapter by chapter.
When reading the sections on reforms and Han policy, note institutional changes as you go for easy cross-reference.
Read alongside a map of the late Ming and early Qing situation or a chronology of major events to reduce confusion about figures and tribal relations.
After each chapter, summarize its decisions and consequences in two or three sentences to check whether you have grasped the main thread.

About the publisher

China Culture and History Press China · Founded in 1980

China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.

版权信息
第一章东北诞巨人巨人助后金
一、诞巨人非凡出身
二、助后金建立殊勋
第二章继位有斗争皇八登汗位
一、太祖逝皇八继位
二、登汗位誓告天地
第三章立即调国策优礼施汉官
一、压汉民形势严峻
二、调国策安定民心
三、仿明朝初定官制
四、礼汉官汉官报恩
第四章重兵袭蒙古大军征朝鲜
一、袭蒙古取喀尔喀
二、征朝鲜迫其结盟
第五章书信博外交宁锦再失手
一、与明朝五封书信
二、攻宁锦无功而返
第六章崇焕斩文龙崇祯杀崇焕
一、斩文龙崇焕失策
二、杀崇焕崇祯中计
第七章围困大凌河坚持优降策
一、惩阿敏严肃军纪
二、围大凌大寿降顺
三、降后金三王归附
第八章国汗集大权发兵攻漠南
一、集大权面南独坐
二、发大兵进攻漠南
第九章顺利降额哲断案有分寸
一、降额哲重视联姻
二、判大案区别对待
第十章改元称大清北进收版图
一、获玉玺改号大清
二、添新力创汉八旗
三、收版图四进龙江
第十一章明朝面危局清帝伐枝条
一、发大兵消耗明朝
二、破松锦明朝危殆
三、讲人道优待降顺
四、伐枝条扫荡明朝
第十二章清帝突驾崩福临继皇位
一、帝驾崩福临继位
二、多后妃枝叶繁茂
三、崇德帝廿条语录
四、伟大的历史人物
皇太极大事年表

FAQ

Is this book better as an introduction or as a research reference?

It is closer to a historical biography for general readers, with vivid narrative and clear structure, suitable as an introduction to Hong Taiji and early Qing history. For specialized research, one still needs to supplement with institutional histories, archival compilations, and more specialized academic works; this book should not be treated as the sole basis.

Which aspects of Hong Taiji does the book focus on?

According to the introduction, the book covers both his experience from childhood following his father on southern campaigns and unifying the Jurchen tribes, and his vigorous reforms and devoted governance after succeeding to the Later Jin Khanate. It highlights his ability to assess the situation and handle civil and military state affairs, as well as his broad-mindedness in embracing Han Chinese and viewing Han culture correctly, thus shaping a three-dimensional portrait of the figure.

Can I read it without knowing Later Jin history?

Yes, but it is advisable to spend a little time first understanding the basic background of the Jurchen tribes, the Later Jin Khanate, and the Ming-Qing confrontation; otherwise, character relationships and institutional terms may create obstacles to understanding. The narrative is fairly vivid, and readers can also fill in background as they go.

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About the author

徐彻 Author

Xu Che is a Chinese author known for biographies of historical figures from China. Publicly available information about him is limited, and his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly recorded. The six works held in the collection show that his writing focuses on important figures from the late Ming and Qing dynasties through the early Republic of China, including Nurhaci, Hong Taiji, Empress Dowager Cixi, the Guangxu Emperor, Zhang Zuolin, and Li Yuanhong. These subjects range from founding rulers to late Qing rulers and Beiyang military and political figures. His works are generally classified as comprehensive biographies and historical readings, reflecting an approach that uses a person's life as the thread while also describing the historical background of the era. He tends to center on his subjects' political activities and life trajectories, writing in plain and readable language suitable for general readers interested in the history of the Ming-Qing transition and the Republican period. Overall, Xu Che is a writer of popular historical biographies.