The three Great Campaigns of the Wanli Emperor, 1592--1600: Court, military, and society in late sixteenth-century China.

Abstract

This dissertation looks at the political environment of late Ming China as viewed through the prism of a series of military campaigns conducted in the 1590s against both foreign and domestic foes. The long reign of the Wanli Emperor (r.1573--1620) was a critical period in Ming (1368--1644) history as the dynasty enjoyed a brief revival of fiscal solvency and military strength before descending into the final stages of decline. While the latter half of Wanli's reign has received a good deal of attention in the scholarly literature, the earlier period of achievements under Wanli, especially with regards to military affairs, has been glossed over by modern scholars. I correct this shortcoming by examining a large number of little used primary sources to paint a new picture of the late Ming military and the social and institutional contexts in which it operated. My project focuses on the Three Great Punitive Campaigns of the Wanli Emperor (<italic>Wanli san da zheng</italic>) which took place in rapid succession in three vastly different frontier regions. While these campaigns are well known to scholars, scant attention has been paid to the rich primary sources which discuss them. These source materials include eyewitness accounts, diaries, memorials to the throne, letters between officials, dispatches from the battlefield, and imperial decrees. In my dissertation I challenge conventional wisdom about the late Ming military as well as describe it in enough detail to be of use to comparative and world historians. Furthermore, the dissertation attempts to stimulate discussion on such important topics as ethnic relations, the role of tributary states in the Chinese world order, and the status of military elites in late imperial Chinese society. Finally, I offer a more balanced interpretation of the controversial reign of the Wanli Emperor and discuss the role played by the monarch himself in late Ming government.