“To gain a deeper understanding of Ming dynasty history, the Jiangnan region is undoubtedly an excellent regional case study. Jiangnan was not only the primary source of state tax revenue but also the area with the most developed imperial examination system and a highly powerful scholar-official class. The emergence of the crisis for Jiangnan’s scholar-officials in the late Ming period and the inversion of local order were certainly caused by these elites exploiting the countryside, but it also foreshadowed a society already in distress, leading to social mobility expressed through violence.”
-- Chen Baoliang (Professor, School of History and Culture, Southwest University)

“Jiangnan was the economic lifeline of the Ming Empire and its most politically and socially complex region. Brother Tang Yuanpeng's book, ‘Jiangnan’s Predicament,’ dissects the historical details of Jiangnan’s grassroots societal operations, bringing that era—superficially refined and romantic yet fundamentally brutal—back to life before the reader’s eyes. Only by understanding the predicament of Jiangnan can one truly discern the quagmire into which the Ming Empire sank in its twilight years.”
-- Chen Xubin (Historical Writer, Senior History Editor)

“A vivid microhistory, a panorama of late Ming society. We will see that the Age of Discovery was not without its impact on China; it facilitated the rise of secular forces that challenged traditional Chinese views of order, leaving behind a series of bizarre yet vibrant scenes in late Ming society that are both amusing and thought-provoking.”
-- Guo Jianlong (Historical Writer)

“The prose of this book is like the spring tide in Jiangnan: the afterglow of a prosperous age still spreads across the river’s surface, while the floodwaters quietly rise above the mouths and noses of many. Those unwilling to despair can still pretend it's merely an insignificant ripple.”
-- Liu Bo (Historical Writer, Screenwriter)

“The Ming dynasty was truly a remarkable era, leaving behind many astonishing stories: a ‘Zhuangyuan’ (top graduate) driven to ruin by commoners in his own hometown; a family producing four ‘Jinshi’ (metropolitan graduates) unable to reclaim their ancestral home occupied by servants... What really happened? I recommend reading ‘Jiangnan’s Predicament’ to find the answers within its pages. This book tells us that history is not always as we imagine—the powerful cannot always bully the countryside with impunity, nor are the weak always helpless victims. History is complex like this; its processes and outcomes are often unexpected, and ‘common sense’ alone cannot reveal the true nature of events.”
-- Wang Di (Chair Professor, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Macau)

“In the late Ming Jiangnan region, beneath the surface of prosperity and wealth, were undercurrents lurking and crises brewing?
Why did six prominent scholar-official families become the fish on the chopping block?

⭐ The Dong-Fan Incident – Two major gentry families in Huzhou encountered catastrophic disaster: the Dong family lost its wealth, the Fan family saw its Zhuangyuan hang himself, signaling an impending storm in Jiangnan society.
⭐ The Jing-Xiong Scandal and Factional Strife – A moral scandal in Xuancheng County, involving Xiucai (government students) stirring trouble, prominent families intriguing against each other, connecting local fires to the capital’s court politics.
⭐ The Burning of Dong Qichang's Manor – A dispute originating from a maidservant led to hundreds of magnificent buildings in the Dong family compound being burned to the ground overnight. Who was the true mastermind?
⭐ The Lingchi of Zheng Man – Convicted of ‘deluding his father and beating his mother,’ was Zheng Man a victim of factional strife or a wicked, disobedient villain who ‘screwed over his dad’?
⭐ The Midnight Desecration of the Zhou Family Grave – After the ‘Clerkly Balance’ was broken, no one was safe. The emperor, bureaucrats, clerks, and powerful servants had prepared the brazier, needing only a spark.
⭐ The Story of Widow Wang’s Revenge – The family that drove Widow Wang’s husband to his death was a gentry family boasting four Jinshi. Determined to avenge her husband, she believed that even a moth flying into the flame could emit a brilliant flash.

Witness the lives of little people in a great era—clerks, farmers, servants, laborers, ruffians... What joys, sorrows, loves, and hatreds did they experience?
Power struggles, conflicts of interest, ethical disputes, jealousy, resentment, scheming... Do these six historical stories reveal the timeless complexity of the human heart?
How did the turbulence in Jiangnan society affect the imperial court, heralding the crises of the Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen reigns in the late Ming?
The plot is intricately linked, the writing style is accessible and witty. The book includes a high-definition map of the Ming Dynasty—trace the paths and overlook the hundred scenes of Jiangnan!”
-- Editor’s Recommendation

★ This book has been honored with multiple awards including Southern Publishing Media’s “2024 Southern Good Book” Award!
★ Jointly recommended by Chen Baoliang, Chen Xubin, Guo Jianlong, Liu Bo, Wang Di, and Zhang Xiangrong! From servants and scholar-officials to the emperor, step into a moment of crisis where life hangs in the balance!
★ Centered on six real historical cases—from a top scholar’s suicide to a “star student’s” execution by lingchi—the book vividly portrays the fates of scholars and commoners, power struggles, and human resilience, offering profound reflections for contemporary readers.

【Awards & Recognition】
⭐ Southern Publishing Media’s “2024 Southern Good Book”
⭐ Top News’ “2024 Book of the Year”
⭐ Selected for the 13th Spring Breeze Reading List (“Annual Top 100 Books”)
⭐ Douban “Weekly New Book Selection” (August 15)
⭐ Peaked at No. 15 on Dangdang's Overall New Book Bestseller List
⭐ Selected for New Weekly • Hardcore Book Club’s “Blade Book Award” Autumn List
⭐ Selected as one of “The 23 Most Notable New Books in August” by Publisher Magazine
⭐ Selected for the “Searchlight Good Books” August List - 24 Outstanding Original Humanities and Social Science Works
⭐ Selected for the August “Hundred Good Books List”

Jiangnan, a region long known for its prosperity and thriving culture, and the scholar-officials, a privileged social group in the feudal dynasties who enjoyed glory and held lofty status, could not escape the fate of decline amidst the political turmoil and deteriorating social morals of the late Ming era.
This book focuses on six stories centered around Jiangnan’s scholar-officials during the late Ming period. They found themselves mired in deep trouble, whether due to court disputes or local squabbles. The lighter consequences involved loss of status and dissipation of wealth and influence; the more severe outcomes meant being driven to despair, resulting in family ruin and death. Caught up in these events were not only famous officials and powerful gentry but also commoners, clerks, servants, and other social strata—each individual struggling to stay afloat within fragments of history.
In mainstream historical narratives, the voices of these ordinary individuals are extremely faint. However, the author delves deeply into contemporary archives and documents, striving to restore their true stories with vivid and meticulous prose, guiding us to perceive the life-and-death choices everyone faced under the vast tide of history, focusing on its subtle details.

Tang Yuanpeng

A senior media professional, graduated from the School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China. He has previously worked at Xinhua News Agency’s Guangdong Branch’s “Sports Reference News” and “Southern Metropolis Daily,” and served as the Editorial Director, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, and New Media CEO of “New Weekly.” He specializes in popular history writing, with articles such as “A Nation’s Last Stand: The Final 48 Hours of the Defense of Hengyang” and “A Portrait of the People in 1914” published in media outlets like “Southern People Weekly,” “Wenshi Bolan” (History and Culture Review), and “New Weekly.” He is the author of “The Death of Xiong Tingbi: The Prisoner’s Dilemma of Late Ming Politics.”

Preface
Chapter 1 The Top Scholar Driven to Death by Commoners
Chapter 2 The Sex Scandal That Brought Down Xiong Tingbi
Chapter 3 The Forced Destruction of Dong Qichang's Mansion
Chapter 4 The "Star Scholar" Executed by Lingchi
Chapter 5 Digging Up the Prime Minister's Ancestral Grave
Chapter 6 The Woman Who Posed a Dilemma for Qian Qianyi
References
Postscript