Tristan G. Brown is one of the emerging Western historians of late Imperial China. He is an assistant professor of history at MIT.
His first book, Laws of the Land: Fengshui and the State in Qing Dynasty China (Princeton University Press, 2023), explores the role of fengshui in law disputes through 500 legal cases and fengshui in economic planning during the Qing dynasty.
It received the John K. Fairbank Award from the American Historical Association, the Biennial Book Prize from the International Society for Chinese Law and History, and was named a Choice Outstanding Title.
This is a very interesting book. From this book, you will know why the construction of railways during the Qing was opposed by the common people on feng shui grounds. This objection was taken seriously by the Qing courts and the emperors.
LWH, 2 Feb 2026, Monday