The shortest history of China
Jaivin, Linda2021
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A pacy history of China that can be read in an afternoon, but will transform your perspective for a lifetime. From kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk, China has influenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics and philosophy across the world for thousands of years. Chinese history is sprawling and gloriously messy. It is full of heroes who are also villains, prosperous ages and violent rebellions, cultural vibrancy and censorious impulses, rebels, loyalists, dissidents and wits. The story of women in China, from the earliest warriors to twentieth-century suffragettes, is rarely told. And historical spectres of corruption and disunity, which have brought down many a glorious ruling house, continue to haunt the People's Republic of China today. Modern China is seen variously as an economic powerhouse, an icon of urbanisation, a propaganda state and an aggressive superpower seeking world domination. China expert Linda Jaivin distils a vast history into a short, readable account that tells you what you need to know about the Middle Kingdom, from its philosophical origins to its political system, to the COVID-19 pandemic and where China is likely to lead the world.
Main title:
The shortest history of China / Linda Jaivin.
Author:
Jaivin, Linda, author
Imprint:
Carlton, VIC : Black Inc., [2021].©2021.
Collation:
278 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps ; 20 cm.
Series title:
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 256-257) and index.
Contents:
IntroductionOrigins: An egg hatches and a civilisation is bornThe Zhou: From ideal rule to warring statesThe Qin: Unification, tyranny and all under heavenThe Han: Intrigue, innovation and a brief interregnumThe great disunity: Three kingdoms, two women warriors, seven sages and a five-mineral powderThe Tang: From golden age to everlasting sorrowThe Song: Proto-socialists, neo-Confucians and urban livingThe Mongol Yuan: From 'glorious slaughter' to the Splendid CityThe Ming: Splendour and decayThe Machu Qing: The rocky road to modernityThe republic: High hopes and vicious betrayalsJapanese invasion and civil war: The republic disintegratesThe Mao years: Continuous revolutionThe reform era: Prosperity and its discontentsThe new era of Xi Jinping: Rise of the wolf warriorsAcknowledgementsFurther readingNotesList of imagesIndex.
ISBN:
9781760641122 (paperback)
Dewey class:
951
Language:
English
BRN:
113518