This volume completes Keith McMahon’s acclaimed history of imperial wives and royal polygamy in China. Avoiding the stereotype of the emperor’s plural wives as mere victims or playthings, the book considers empresses and concubines as full-fledged participants in palace life, whether as mothers, wives, or go-betweens in the emperor’s relations with others in the palace. Althoug...(展开全部)

On the eve of the early modern age, Ming emperors ruled around one-quarter of the globe's population, the majority of the world's largest urban centers, the biggest standing army on the planet, and the day's most affluent economy. Far from being isolated, the Ming court was the greatest center of political patronage in East Eurasia, likely the world. Although the Ming throne mi...(展开全部)

On the eve of the early modern age, Ming emperors ruled around one-quarter of the globe's population, the majority of the world's largest urban centers, the biggest standing army on the planet, and the day's most affluent economy. Far from being isolated, the Ming court was the greatest center of political patronage in East Eurasia, likely the world. Although the Ming throne mi...(展开全部)

This dazzling array of exquisite and intimate art from one of the world's most renowned collectors covers more than three centuries of Chinese erotic art. This opulently illustrated volume offers a wide-ranging examination of erotic artifacts from the end of the Ming Dynasty, around 1600, to the heyday of Shanghai in the 1920s. It includes luxurious reproductions of prints, wat...(展开全部)

China’s historical women warriors hailed from the northeast (Manchuria) during the Liao (907–1125) and Jin (1115–1234) dynasties. Celebrated in the Liao History, they were "unprecedented." They rode horseback astride, were good at hunting and shooting, and took part in military battles. Several empresses―and one famous bandit chief―led armies against the enemy Song state. Women...(展开全部)

China’s historical women warriors hailed from the northeast (Manchuria) during the Liao (907–1125) and Jin (1115–1234) dynasties. Celebrated in the Liao History, they were "unprecedented." They rode horseback astride, were good at hunting and shooting, and took part in military battles. Several empresses―and one famous bandit chief―led armies against the enemy Song state. Women...(展开全部)