INTRODUCTION: SOME GENERAL TRENDS

The nearly three centuries of the Ming dynasty's rule can hardly be considered a homogeneous period, and the changes that took place during this time touched all aspects of Chinese cultural and intellectual life. Historiography in its broadest sense was no exception. Although innovations develop only gradually over a long period, on the whole the historical writing of the last century of the Ming dynasty differed considerably from that of the first century. The difference became evident in quality as well as in quantity. The details of these changes will be elaborated in the course of this chapter. They may be summarized here as a more critical attitude toward source materials, which became gradually evident during the sixteenth century and distinguished the later period from the earlier one.

Economic developments in the sixteenth century, particularly in the lower Yangtze area, made literary education for their offspring affordable to ever more people. Literacy expanded greatly, and the demand for reading materials (including writings on history) increased. One aspect of this general trend was the large increase in the quotas of successful candidates in the official examinations. These men were also the prospective readers of historical writings. The average number of successful candidates in the metropolitan examination (who formed the majority of authors and compilers of publications relevant to history) rose from roughly 150 every three years in the period from 1388 to 1448 to 290 in each triennial examination period between 1451 and 1505, and to 330 between 1508 and 1643.