The Mythistorical Chinese Scholar-Rebel-Advisor Li Yan: A Global Perspective, 1606-2018Roger Des Forges here examines the puzzle of Li Yan, a Chinese scholar who advised the rebel Li Zicheng (1605-1645), and helped him to overthrow the Ming, only to die at his hands. For more than three centuries, Li Yan’s identity and even existence were seriously questioned. Then, in 2004, there was discovered a genealogical manuscript which includes a Li Yan (1606-1644). He now appears to be the principal historical reality behind the Li Yan story, which became a powerful metaphor for the rise and fall of Li Zicheng’s rebellion. Offering a fresh theory of Chinese and world history, the author elucidates Li Yan’s historical significance by comparing and contrasting him with similar figures in other times and places around the globe. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Chapter 1 The Textual Origins and Growth of the Story in Jiangnan | 12 |
Chapter 2 Acceptance of the Story by the Qing State | 69 |
Chapter 3 Persistence of the Story in the Republic | 100 |
Chapter 4 Flourishing of the Story in the Early Peoples Republic | 159 |
Chapter 5 Renewed Doubts about the Story | 243 |
Chapter 6 Toward a Solution to the Li Yan Puzzle | 290 |
Chapter 7 Li Yans Places in Chinese History | 349 |
Postface Comparisons and Contrasts with OtherScholar Rebel Advisors around the Globe | 421 |
Appendix A The Principal Periods of Chinese History Based on Wilkinson 2013 | 507 |
Appendix B A Selective Family Tree of the Lis of Tang Village Constructed by the Author Based on Data in Li 1716Late Republic | 508 |
Glossary | 511 |
| 523 | |
| 551 | |
Common terms and phrases
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