This is a study of landholding, taxation and social structure in one county of central China that became famous in the Ming and Ch'ing periods for producing great officials and remarkable intellectual traditions. The primary aim of the author is to investigate the composition, organisation and economic basis of the local elite, in particular the role played by large kinship groups and among her sources are local gazetteers and lineage genealogies. The importance of the book is that it looks at the elite in a local context, rather than focusing on the national elite of top degree-holders and officials. As an in-depth case study of the history of elite families and lineages, social structure and social mobility and also economic history in one locality over five centuries or so the book, is unique and will be of interest to anthropologists as well as sociologists and historians.

The collapse of the Ming dynasty and the takeover of China by Manchu rulers in the 1640s were of crucial importance in the late history of China. But because traditional Chinese sources arbitrarily divide the century at the change of dynasty in 1644, it has been difficult to form a clear picture of the transition. The nine essays in this book will contribute significantly toward understanding the complexity of change and continuity over the span of time leading up to and resulting from the tumult of the mid-1600s. "The fullest introduction in English to the Ming-Ch'ing transition."-Tom Fisher, Pacific Affairs "No other recent work compares with its scope, and no older work can stand up to the introduction of its new materials and perspectives."-Library Journal "[This book] makes a valuable contribution to Ming-Ch'ing studies and should be required reading for anyone interested in the two dynasties."-James B. Parsons, American Historical Review