Biography of Yongzheng (2 Volumes)

Mr. Feng Erkang's Yongzheng: A Biography is a landmark work in the field of Qing history. Since its first publication, its rigorous textual criticism of historical sources and profound historical insight have made it an unavoidable cornerstone for research on the Yongzheng Emperor and on Qing history as a whole. This book is not a simple narrative of an emperor's life, but a grand historical work that takes Yongzheng as its axis and deeply analyzes the politics, economy, social structure, and cultural currents of the early Qing. The author, Feng Erkang, one of the founders of Chinese social history research, brings his deep historical scholarship to place his subject at the transitional node of the "Kangxi-Qianlong golden age." Through a large quantity of first-hand sources—memorials, veritable records, archives, and more—he unravels the threads and seeks to restore the image of a reformer who was severely demonized in traditional evaluations and at the same time highly controversial and complex. The book not only details a series of key institutional reforms in the Yongzheng reign that profoundly influenced later ages—such as the merger of the poll tax into the land tax, the commutation of the meltage fee into public funds, the establishment of the Grand Council, and the replacement of native chieftains with appointed officials—but also concentrates on exploring Yongzheng's own character, thought, and ruling methods and his complex interaction with the bureaucratic system and various social strata. Its value lies in transcending the simple labels of "diligent in government" or "harsh" and guiding readers to think about the internal logic of the strengthening of centralization in the late imperial period, the difficulties and costs of institutional innovation, and the agency and limitations of the individual within the tide of history. For readers who wish to understand the substance of Qing political operation in depth rather than merely satisfy themselves with palace secrets, this work offers rare academic weight and intellectual depth.