BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China Paperback - 1999

by Timothy Brook

Add to wish list

Reader reviews for The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China

Write a review for this book

There are no reviews for this book yet. Be the first to write a review!

Your review will be anonymous unless you login or create an account first.

Overall rating
Remember: You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the condition of the specific copy you purchased!

Important Terms and Guidelines

  • Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
  • Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
  • Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
  • This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
  • Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
  • Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
  • Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
  • Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
  • Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
  • Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information

From the publisher

The Ming dynasty was the last great Chinese dynasty before the Manchu conquest in 1644. During that time, China, not Europe, was the center of the world: the European voyages of exploration were searching not just for new lands but also for new trade routes to the Far East. In this book, Timothy Brook eloquently narrates the changing landscape of life over the three centuries of the Ming (1368-1644), when China was transformed from a closely administered agrarian realm into a place of commercial profits and intense competition for status.

The Confusions of Pleasure marks a significant departure from the conventional ways in which Chinese history has been written. Rather than recounting the Ming dynasty in a series of political events and philosophical achievements, it narrates this longue dure in terms of the habits and strains of everyday life. Peppered with stories of real people and their negotiations of a rapidly changing world, this book provides a new way of seeing the Ming dynasty that not only contributes to the scholarly understanding of the period but also provides an entertaining and accessible introduction to Chinese history for anyone.

First line

HASH(0x110b0650)

From the jacket flap

"This is joyful and comprehensive scholarship, full of motion and detail. Timothy Brook encases the fascinating and changeable world of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in a clear conceptual and chronological framework which any non-specialist can follow. Here are a wealth of Ming people and their problems, along with the very stuff of their world: bricks and bridges; markets, monasteries, and mail; famines and fashion; printing, passion, and portents. This is the first book we have in English that shows the whole shape of Ming life in all its ebullient complexity."Jonathan Spence"

Details

  • Title The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China
  • Author Timothy Brook
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: first
  • Pages 345
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher University of California Press, Berkeley, CA
  • Publication date 1999-09-01
  • ISBN 9780520221543 / 0520221540
  • Weight 1.2 lbs (0.54 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.04 x 6.14 x 0.9 in (22.96 x 15.60 x 2.29 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 15th Century
    • Chronological Period: 16th Century
    • Chronological Period: 17th Century
    • Chronological Period: Medieval (500-1453) Studies
    • Cultural Region: Asian - General
    • Cultural Region: Asian - Chinese
    • Cultural Region: East Asian
  • Category History - General History
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 97008838
  • Dewey Decimal Code 951.026

About the author

Timothy Brook is Professor of History at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Praying for Power: Buddhism and the Formation of Gentry Society in Late-Ming China (1993), and Quelling the People: The Military Suppression of the Beijing Democracy Movement (1992), and the coeditor of Nation Work: Asian Elites and National Identities (1999) and China and Historical Capitalism: Genealogies of Sinological Knowledge (1999).

Please wait a moment while we load the requested page.