Ming under the microscope

★ Ma Boyong's new historical documentary work, a Ming Dynasty history book worth collecting

★ Six little-known archives of the Ming Dynasty, six dusty past events of the people's livelihood

★ Vivid handbook of grassroots politics, understand the real ancient China in detail

★ This book is narrated eloquently, with a dense and meticulous pen. Readers can also weave a complex Ming Empire from one detail after another. —— Zhang Hongjie

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This book tells about six grassroots political events in the Ming Dynasty hidden deep in the pile of old papers.

The author excavates these dusty stories from a series of rare folk archives in the Ming Dynasty. These archives are unique miracles in Chinese history. They focus on the political life of ordinary people and record them in great detail. Here, we can see the simple demands of the people, the cunning folk wisdom, the dirty means of subordinate staff, and the delicate technique of balancing the officialdom. From countless real details, it shows an extremely vivid picture of political ecology .

These six incidents focus on a prefecture, a county, and even a village, and record the real political life of ordinary people at the bottom: when they encounter unfair taxation, how they protest angrily; when their family rights are damaged, how they file a lawsuit ; when political interests and commercial interests conflict, how do they play games with the government;

"Student must die - the whole story of the Huizhou silk case": During the Wanli period, an unfair tax policy caused protracted chaos in the Huizhou government. The game of many interest groups such as the rebellious people, county officials, state capital, household department, chief assistant, emperor, etc.

"The Choice between Pen and Ash-Wuyuan Dragon Vein Defense War": An economic dispute in Wuyuan County that lasted for 64 years reflects how a county-level official balances the interests of a county on major issues.

"Who Moved My Ancestral Temple-Yang Qianyuan Legal and Political Situation": A case of competition for private temple property in She County. In this eight-year lawsuit, both parties showed their strengths and tried their best to stage a wonderful Jiajing legal drama.

"Transparency in the World--The Past and Present of the First Archives of the Ming Dynasty": The whole process from establishment to decline of an unpopular institution located in Houhu (Xuanwu Lake) - the Daming Yellow Records Library. Understand how the grassroots rule in the Ming Dynasty collapsed step by step.

"The Feast of Subordinate Officials-Peng County Petty Official Fraud Case": A lawsuit that couldn't be smaller has attracted countless greedy mosquito bites. The evil of the subordinate staff is vividly portrayed.

"Four Injustices in Zhengtong Years": How four innocent and innocent people were dragged into the struggle of the court.

The author tries to use a calm and restrained zero-degree narrative to write biographies for those ants who were born in dust and died in ignorance, and relay their voices that have been lost in the grand history. If you want to understand Ming Dynasty and ancient Chinese politics, you should not only focus on the court, but also listen to the cry from the bottom. It is in the encounters of ordinary people that the most real laws are hidden.