This volume of the Cambridge History of China considers the political, military, social, and economic developments of the Ch'ing empire to 1800. The period begins with the end of the resurgent Ming dynasty, covered in volumes 7 and 8, and ends with the beginning of the collapse of the imperial system in the nineteenth century, described in volume 10. Taken together, the ten chapters elucidate the complexities of the dynamic interactions between emperors and their servitors, between Manchus and non-Manchu populations, between various elite groups, between competing regional interests, between merchant networks and agricultural producers, between rural and urban interests, and, at work among all these tensions, between the old and new. This volume presents the changes underway in this period prior to the advent of Western imperialist military power.

‘… this volume is and will be extremely useful for historians in general … at the same time, it will also be unofficial for historians of china who have the ambition to add an increasingly complex and sophisticated perspective to their own academic work. Last but not least, great parts of this volume can turn out to be inspiring for one’s own research … it should … be pointed out that the CHC, volume 9, part 1, for the first time perhaps, recognizes, in a sinological context outside of the narrow field of Manchurists and specialists of Ch'ing warfare, the crucial importance of Manchu sources for our understanding of both Manchu and Ch'ing history.’

Source: Etudes Chinoises

' … The Ch'ing dynasty to 1800 has all it takes to become a standard reference work on early and mid-Qing history.'

Source: School of Oriental & African Studies