''Crisis and Transformation in Seventeenth-Century China: Society, Culture, and Modernity in Li Yü's World'' is a 1992 book written by Chun-shu Chang and Shelley Hsueh-lun Chang about the transition in seventeenth-century China from the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

to the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

as viewed from a scholar living during the transition, Li Yu. The book discusses the state, society, and culture of the time by examining Li Yu's life and writings. The book received Choice's Outstanding Academic Title Award in 1998.

Background

Chun-shu Chang is a professor of History at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and has written numerous publications on the

history of China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the ...

Conclusions

Resulting from 20 years of work, ''Crisis and Transformation'' presents different conclusions about the seventeenth-century Chinese scholar Li Yu than were previously recorded by Patrick Hanan in his 1988 biographical study, ''The Invention of Li Yu''. Chang and Chang conclude that the erotic novel ''

The Carnal Prayer Mat ''Rouputuan'', also known as ''Huiquanbao'' and ''Juehouchan'', and translated as ''The Carnal Prayer Mat'' or ''The Before Midnight Scholar'', is a 17th-century Chinese erotic novel published under a pseudonym but usually attributed to Li Yu. ...

'' was not authored by Li Yu as was previously suggested by Patrick Hanan. The Changs also accepted Li Yu as the author of the historical study ''Gujin Shilue'' (''Outline of History''), while Hanan had stated that the work was "fake". The difference this makes in the historical view of Li Yu is that he was seen by Hanan as a blithe, artful writer but by the Changs as a more staid scholar.

Reception

''Crisis and Transformation'' received Choice's Outstanding Academic Title Award in 1998, an award given to select academic books that were reviewed by ''

Choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate Motivation, motivators and Choice modelling, models. Freedom of choice is generally cherished, whereas a severely limited or arti ...

'' in the previous year. In his review for the journal ''Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews'',

Robert E. Hegel Robert E. Hegel (born January 9, 1943; ) is an American sinologist specializing in the fiction of late imperial China. He taught at Washington University in St. Louis, from 1975 until his retirement in the spring of 2018 and was made Liselotte Di ...

wrote that the volume is a "essential source of information" for students studying the development of seventeenth century fiction and theater.

Background

Conclusions

Reception

References

Further reading