One of the most important law codes in Chinese history, the Ming Code represents a break with the past following the alien-ruled Yuan (Mongol) dynasty and the flourishing of culture under the Ming (1368-1644). The Code regulated all the perceived major aspects of social affairs, aiming at the harmony of political, economic, military, familial, ritual, international, and legal relations in the empire and cosmic relations in the universe. This book is the first English translation of the Code. <p><b>Jiang Yonglin</b> is associate professor of East Asian studies at Bryn Mawr College and the author of <i>The Mandate of Heaven and the Great Ming Code.</i>"An eminently readable treasure of Chinese culture, society, and values at the end of the fourteenth century." <i>-Journal of Asian History</i>