The name Chen Hongmou (1696–1771) rings few bells today. Yet he was probably the most influential official of his time. A tough, honest, active man, not exactly a likable person, he was someone deeply dedicated to improving the people's welfare. In short, a model Qing official. In this blockbuster of a book, William T. Rowe uses Chen's life to examine the culture of the 18th-century bureaucracy, encompassing nearly all the classic problems of Chinese society, past and present.