The Objectionable Li Zhi

"[A] book that answers questions many have asked themselves and raises new ones on the complexity of Li Zhi's (1527-1602) personality and thought. This is the first volume in English that collects various studies done under different perspectives on this controversial Ming thinker."

(Ming Qing Studies)

"[A] fascinating, multidisciplinary study of Li Zhi, a controversial, complex figure... a remarkable work"

(Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews)

"[O]ffers a worthy companion to the editors' earlier volume of selected translations of Li Zhi's writings."

(Journal of Chinese Studies)

"[A] mature contribution both to Li Zhi and late-Ming scholarship. Features of his life and writings are examined by knowledgeable Ming scholars who are able skillfully to shed light on him from the perspective of a body of scholarship for which each is known."

(Journal of Chinese History)

"The diverse and multifaceted scholarship presented in this volume not only mirrors Li Zhi's intellectual versatility, it also documents the wide margin that the discrepancies and inconsistencies in his thinking and writing leave for interpretation. Even though Li Zhi seemed "objectionable" to many of his contemporaries and some of those that came after him, this book convincingly demonstrates the value and perpetual significance of his thought. To all students of Li Zhi's life and thought and of late Ming intellectual history in general I do recommend this volume unreservedly."

(Monumenta Serica)