The Ming History English Translation Project

This collaborative project makes available translations (from Chinese to English) of portions of the 明史 Mingshi, or the Official History of the Ming Dynasty. The Mingshi was presented to the Qing throne in 1736 and published in 1739. Compiled from materials collected over the course of the Ming period (1368-1644) and thereafter, it contains valuable information on Ming government, society, and prominent individuals.

The site also provides translations from other sources on Ming, and other resources. Explore!

Students and scholars are welcome to use the translations presented here. Please cite the website (Ming History English Translation Project) as well as crediting the translator and earlier place of publication, if any. When the translation includes a Creative Commons license you must follow those terms of use.

If you have translations or other materials related to the history of Ming that you would like to share, please contact Yiming Ha at yimingha@hkbu.edu.hk. Your contributions are needed!

For more information on Ming Studies, including resource links of all kinds, please visit the home page of the Society for Ming Studies at http://mingstudies.arts.ubc.ca/.

Special thanks to Sarah Schneewind (UCSD) for starting this project and managing it for the longest time, as well as to all the contributors! This project was made possible in part by an award from the James P. Geiss and Margaret Y. Hsu Foundation.