Why read The Culture of War in China?

Book cover of The Culture of War in China: Empire and the Military under the Qing Dynasty

Book description

Was the primary focus of the Qing dynasty really civil rather than military matters? In this ground-breaking book, Joanna Waley-Cohen overturns conventional wisdom to put warfare at the heart of seventeenth and eighteenth century China. She argues that the civil and the military were understood as mutually complementary forces. Emperors…

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Asian history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Culture of War in China as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Peter A. Lorge

Author

This is a series of six essays that present a “new Qing history” approach to 17th and 18th century Chinese military history, specifically the culture involved in the military campaigns from 1636 to 1799. Waley-Cohen not only presents a more positive view of the Qing’s Manchu rulers, but also the centrality of military activities and culture to Chinese culture. The Qing government enthusiastically promoted its martial accomplishments, and martial culture was in turn reflected in visual culture, religion, and popular culture.

From Peter's list on The best books on Chinese military history.