Treason by the Book by Jonathan D.
Spence
Historical Novel
Shortly before noon on October 28, 1728, General Yue Zhongqi, the most
powerful military and civilian official in northwest China, was en route to his
headquarters. Suddenly, out of the crowd, a stranger ran toward Yue and
passed him an envelope-an envelope containing details of a treasonous
plot to overthrow the Manchu government.
This thrilling story of a conspiracy against the Qing dynasty in 1728 is a
captivating tale of intrigue and a fascinating exploration of what it means to
rule and be ruled. Once again, Jonathan Spence has created a vivid
portrait of the rich culture that surrounds a most dramatic moment in
Chinese history.

An infectiously readable narrative . . . on a par with bestselling works of
historical reconstruction such as Dava Sobels Longitude . . . Eighteenth-
century China springs to life. (The Dallas Morning News)
A slice of history told in the lively manner of a novel. (Ian Buruma, The
New York Times Book Review)
A work of history that pulses with emotion, with vital characters re-created
vividly, with complex situations lucidly unraveled, with irony underscored.
His straightforward prose style and use of the historic present give his work
an engrossing immediacy. It is history of the best kind. (The Philadelphia
Inquirer)
Personal Review: Treason by the Book by Jonathan D. Spence
_Treason by the book_
jonathan spenceThis book once again cements my feeling that J.Spence is
the best English speaker on the History of China. The book is truely
amazing.
Part of the amazement is that the topic can be worded so narrowly that you
wonder how to write an essay on it, rather than a whole and interesting
book.For from the outset the book is about a note, passed from the hand of
one-Zhang Xi to General Yue Zhongqi , in the city of Xi 'an, late October
1728 (western calendar of course). The emperor is Yongzheng, of the
Qing dynasty, which has been in power since 1644. It is what Spence does
with this event, how he unfolds and adds systematically to our knowledge
of China, to our appreciation of the intricacies of Chinese society and its
governance by the Manchurians, having replaced the Ming who were
native Chinese, that makes this a great book. It reads like a detective
novel, slowly introducing new facts as we need them, leading us by the
hand to his deep and sympathic understanding of Chinese history, all the
time using words and phrases that beguile and intertwine us with the
unfolding events as they become real from the distant past. Spence found
his calling by crossing from academic writing in his strict histories back and
forth to this genre which is more accurate than historical novels yet shares
in the attractiveness and readability of them. The qualities of respect for
historical accuracy and a good storyteller are not commonly found inside
one person's head and i am gratefully for their collusion in J.Spence for his
writing makes us all much more aware and involved in the history of the
Chinese.From the last page:
"Thus it can be said that both emperors got it wrong. One emperor thought
that by airing all the negative facts against himself, he could purge the

record of the noxious rumors, and because of his honesty posterity would
revere his name. But his people remembered the rumors and forgot the
disclaimers. The second emperor thought that by destroying the book he
world lay his father's ghosts to rest. But his people thought that the reason
he wanted to destroy the book was because so much of what it contained
was true. " pg 247It is a good book, one of those pieces of history that in
the writing and our reading of it, transcend the particular and cast light on
the general condition of being human. Certainly there is much in this book
particular to being Chinese in the early 1700's, much that is culture bound
and as a result something i can read about but can never experience. But
in sharing those particulars, Spence has shown, and often made us feel,
what it means to live as human beings, striving to understand while trying
to get enough to eat. Striving to honor parents, governmental authorities,
Heaven itself, while exercising freedom of thought, and pushing the limits
of acceptability to the greater classes to which they belong.I put the book
down with a greater respect for Confucian classics and the way they held
China together for 2500 years, for the respect that the Chinese have for
book knowledge, for calligraphy, for writing, for scholarship. I am left with a
much better understanding of the problems of bureaucracy and governing
a population of tens of millions before electronic means of communication
and the instantaneousness we have come to demand and expect. All big
ideas that Spence could have written a dry scholarly textbook on, say _the
means of governance of China via Confucian classics and the literary
bureaucracy_. but i know this imaginary book could have none of the
emotional appeal and humanity that _Treason by the book_ does. Form
does matter, some things do communicate better, more forcefully and
easier, this book is one. So, if you have any interest in China, again
J.Spence has my highest recommendation and grateful thanks.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Treason by the Book by Jonathan D. Spence 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!