Treason By the Book: Traitors, Conspirators And Guardians of An Emperor

Jonathan D. Spence

ISBN 10: 0140291296 / ISBN 13: 9780140291292

Published by Penguin Books Ltd, 2002

About this Item

320 pages.

Seller Inventory # 1149599

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Treason By the Book: Traitors, Conspirators And Guardians of An Emperor
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0140291296
• ISBN 13: 9780140291292
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 600 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • General

About this title

Synopsis

In 1728 a stranger handed a letter to Governor Yue calling on him to lead a rebellion against the Manchu rulers of China. Feigning agreement, he learnt the details of the plot and immediately informed the Emperor, Yongzheng. The ringleaders were captured with ease, forced to recant and, to the confusion and outrage of the public, spared. Drawing on an enormous wealth of documentary evidence - over a hundred and fifty secret documents between the Emperor and his agents are stored in Chinese archives - Jonathan Spence has recreated this revolt of the scholars in fascinating and chilling detail. It is a story of unwordly dreams of a better world and the facts of bureaucratic power, of the mind of an Emperor and of the uses of his mercy.

About the Author

Jonathan D. Spence, Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, is the award-winning author of a remarkable body of work on Chinese culture and history, including THE SEARCH FOR MODERN CHINA, GOD'S CHINESE SON and THE CHAN'S GREAT CONTINENT.