ABSTRACT
This chapter will focus upon the larger strategic concerns of the Ming in order to determine whether or not the Ming in fact had a grand strategy for maintaining dynastic security and advancing the state's interests. It also considers whether or not the Ming government can be said to have possessed a strategic culture. Because of the tremendous amount of primary materials extant, the Ming dynasty presents a very fertile area for the study of such matters in the early-modern world. Scholars can trace and evaluate the decision-making process at all stages to arrive at conclusions concerning the coherent articulation and application of grand strategy for the Imjin War, while also identifying potential strategic cultures that may have influenced such strategies. The chapter summarizes recent literature pertaining to both grand strategy and strategic culture in Chinese history with an emphasis upon the Ming period, before advancing the conceptualizations of Ming grand strategy.
