Abstract
Professor Schneewind's critique of my essay “Towns and Temples: Urban Growth and Decline in the Yangzi Delta, 1100–1500” is curious in that it proposes no alternative interpretation of the historical phenomena in question, nor does it adduce any new evidence relevant to the issues I raise. If I understand the implication of the title of her critique correctly, Schneewind believes I am too quick to resort to the stereotypical image of the founder of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang (Emperor Taizu, r. 1368–98), as a tyrant to explain the sudden and sharp decline of the thriving market towns of the Yangzi Delta region (which, for sake of convenience, I will refer to as Jiangnan) in the early years of the Ming. The comments that follow endeavor to provide further support for my arguments by drawing on both contemporary writings and current historical scholarship.
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