1587: A Year of No Significance
Encyclopedia
1587, a Year of No Significance is Chinese historian
Ray Huang
's most famous work. First published by Yale University Press
in 1981, it examines how a number of seemingly insignificant events in 1587 might have caused the downfall of the Ming empire. The views expressed in the book follow the macro history perspective.
The Chinese title, meaning "the fifteenth year of the Emperor Wanli", is how the year 1587 was expressed in the Chinese calendar
: the era name of the emperor at the time, followed by which year of his reign it was.
Although Huang had completed the manuscript
by 1976, no publisher would accept it at first, as it was not serious enough for an academic work, but was too serious for popular non-fiction.
The work has been translated into a number of different languages: Chinese, Japanese
, German
and French
.
, which premièred in Hong Kong
in 1999. The second production was in 2006, after Woo and Towards the Republic
(走向共和) screenwriter Zhang Jianwei (張建偉) re-wrote the script by adding a considerable amount of Kun opera and other elements. There was a third run in 2008.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Ray Huang
Ray Huang
Ray Huang was a Chinese historian and philosopher. He was an officer in the Nationalist army and fought in the Burma campaigns. He earned a Ph.D in history from the University of Michigan, worked with Joseph Needham and is a contributor of Needham's Science and Civilisation in China...
's most famous work. First published by Yale University Press
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
in 1981, it examines how a number of seemingly insignificant events in 1587 might have caused the downfall of the Ming empire. The views expressed in the book follow the macro history perspective.
The Chinese title, meaning "the fifteenth year of the Emperor Wanli", is how the year 1587 was expressed in the Chinese calendar
Chinese calendar
The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well...
: the era name of the emperor at the time, followed by which year of his reign it was.
Although Huang had completed the manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
by 1976, no publisher would accept it at first, as it was not serious enough for an academic work, but was too serious for popular non-fiction.
The work has been translated into a number of different languages: Chinese, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Adaptations
1587 was adapted into a play by Zuni Icosahedron (進念二十面體) director Mathias WooMathias Woo
Mathias Woo Yan Wai is a cultural worker in the cross-media discipline in Hong Kong, with creative works ranging from theatre and multi-media design, to cultural policy research and analysis, art education, architectural design and screenplay writing....
, which premièred in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1999. The second production was in 2006, after Woo and Towards the Republic
Towards the Republic
Towards the Republic, also known as For the Sake of the Republic and Zou Xiang Gong He, is a Chinese historical television series first broadcast on CCTV in China from April to May 2003...
(走向共和) screenwriter Zhang Jianwei (張建偉) re-wrote the script by adding a considerable amount of Kun opera and other elements. There was a third run in 2008.
External links
- The Book on Yale University PressYale University PressYale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
- Review by the New York Times
- 專訪﹕《萬曆十五年》編導胡恩威 香港演繹萬曆十五年的傳奇