Our guest on this episode is Michael Szonyi, the author of The Art of Being Governed: Everyday Politics in Late Imperial China.

In the podcast:

The Art of Being Governed: how families in 14th-century China negotiated military and political obligations to the state (1:30) — Family obligations of taxation and military service (3:00) — What is it like to have a family history that goes back for six centuries or more? (6:00) — How do you evaluate the trustworthiness of the historical evidence about taxation and the state? (8:00) — Entire families moved from one part of China to another via military transfer (9:30) — Has there been any impact from consumer DNA testing (e.g. 23andme)? The impact of invasions and population transfers (12:45) — Hereditary occupational status and obligations to the state (15:45) — Did hiring too many soldiers bankrupt the Ming dynasty? (18:45) — How is the Ming period regarded in China today? (21:15) — National vs. imperial identity in China (23:00) — Research methods: combining fieldwork, archival and library sources (25:45) — Rituals, village identity and history (28:00) — Cold War Island: Quemoy on the Front Line (30:30) — 20th-century Chinese history from the point of view of the villages (31:45)