The rise and fall of imperial China : the social origins of state development /
Wang, Yuhua, 1981-
The rise and fall of imperial China : the social origins of state development / Yuhua Wang. - Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2022] - xviii, 329 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm. - Princeton studies in contemporary China . - Princeton studies in contemporary China. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-320) and index.
"China was the world's leading superpower for almost two millennia, falling behind only in the last two centuries and now rising to dominance again. What factors led to imperial China's decline? The Rise and Fall of Imperial China offers a systematic look at the Chinese state from the seventh century through to the twentieth. Focusing on how short-lived emperors often ruled a strong state while long-lasting emperors governed a weak one, Yuhua Wang shows why lessons from China's history can help us better understand state building. Wang argues that Chinese rulers faced a fundamental trade-off that he calls the sovereign's dilemma: a coherent elite that could collectively strengthen the state could also overthrow the ruler. This dilemma emerged because strengthening state capacity and keeping rulers in power for longer required different social networks in which central elites were embedded. Wang examines how these social networks shaped the Chinese state, and vice versa, and he looks at how the ruler's pursuit of power by fragmenting the elites became the final culprit for China's fall."
9780691215167
2022941962
GBC2D9829 bnb
020708712 Uk
1644-1912
Social networks--History.--China
POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory.
Politics and government.
Qing Dynasty (China)
Social networks.
Social networks--History--China
China--History--960-1644.
China--Politics and government--960-1644.
China--Politics and government--1644-1912.
China--History--Qing dynasty, 1644-1912.
China.
China--History--960-1644
China--Politics and government--960-1644
China--Politics and government--1644-1912
China--History--Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
History.
HM741 / .W37 2022
951.03
The rise and fall of imperial China : the social origins of state development / Yuhua Wang. - Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2022] - xviii, 329 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm. - Princeton studies in contemporary China . - Princeton studies in contemporary China. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-320) and index.
"China was the world's leading superpower for almost two millennia, falling behind only in the last two centuries and now rising to dominance again. What factors led to imperial China's decline? The Rise and Fall of Imperial China offers a systematic look at the Chinese state from the seventh century through to the twentieth. Focusing on how short-lived emperors often ruled a strong state while long-lasting emperors governed a weak one, Yuhua Wang shows why lessons from China's history can help us better understand state building. Wang argues that Chinese rulers faced a fundamental trade-off that he calls the sovereign's dilemma: a coherent elite that could collectively strengthen the state could also overthrow the ruler. This dilemma emerged because strengthening state capacity and keeping rulers in power for longer required different social networks in which central elites were embedded. Wang examines how these social networks shaped the Chinese state, and vice versa, and he looks at how the ruler's pursuit of power by fragmenting the elites became the final culprit for China's fall."
9780691215167
2022941962
GBC2D9829 bnb
020708712 Uk
1644-1912
Social networks--History.--China
POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory.
Politics and government.
Qing Dynasty (China)
Social networks.
Social networks--History--China
China--History--960-1644.
China--Politics and government--960-1644.
China--Politics and government--1644-1912.
China--History--Qing dynasty, 1644-1912.
China.
China--History--960-1644
China--Politics and government--960-1644
China--Politics and government--1644-1912
China--History--Qing dynasty, 1644-1912
History.
HM741 / .W37 2022
951.03