Tales from the Qing Dynasty

From the Jurchen tribes between the White Mountains and Black Waters to a unified dynasty ruling the Central Plains, a sweeping founding epic begins.

Grounded in official historical records and told in a witty, accessible style from an emperor’s first-person perspective, this book brings to life the turbulent forty-five years that laid the foundations of the Qing dynasty (1616–1661). Follow Nurhaci as he raises an army with thirteen suits of inherited armor, unites the Jurchens, launches his campaign against the Ming with the Seven Grievances, shifts the balance of power in Liaodong at Sarhu, and suffers a bitter defeat on the battlefield at Ningyuan. Witness Huangtaiji abolish the old system, conquer the Mongols, change the dynasty’s name to the Great Qing, and exhaust the Ming’s elite forces beyond the passes in the Battle of Songjin. Experience Shunzhi’s ascension to the throne as a child and Dorgon’s regency as the Qing enters the passes. Amid the upheaval of forced queues and clothing reforms, Shunzhi takes personal charge of governing, only to die young from heartbreak and smallpox.