Historical Research on the Ming Dynasty in Mainland China — 1995–2009

Abstract

The historical research on the Ming Dynasty has been changing visibly during the past 15 years in mainland China. Despite the rapidly increasing publications, the substantive progress in scholarship is unfortunately limited. Many theories and methods in other fields have been introduced into the four sub-fields in the study of Ming History. In these four sub-fields, the rise and expansion of social history are impressive. Nonetheless, the interactions among these sub-fields are becoming more difficult than before.