Brush, Seal and Abacus: Troubled Vitality in Late Ming China’s Economic Heartland, 1500–1644

is perhaps one of the thornier historical issues to deal with and one that is highly relevant to our times: cultural contact and the negotiation of conflicting teachings or strands of thought. He leaves readers in no doubt as to how complex a reconstruction of such encounters in history really is, while at the same time allowing them the satisfaction of having reached a reasonable understanding of the issues at hand. Besides offering a timely and rich re-contextualization of the scholarship on the intersection of late Ming China and the Jesuit missions to the Far East, Sachsenmaier’s book is, quite simply, a joy to read.