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Discusses the history, culture, material artifacts, and society of six ancient Chinese dynasties from about 2000 B.C. to 221 A.D. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An excellent overview of ancient China
I read three or four similar ones, but they just weren't as comprehensive as this one. For such a short book it packs a lot of information. I would recommend this one to adults who want a good overview as opposed to a tome.It has lots of photos, but they are all black and white.

I have just a few complaints and suggestions. The author uses the pinyin and Wade-Giles romanizations interchangeably, without explanation, and it was a bit confusing. I can imagine it would be even more confusing to someone unfamiliar with Chinese. Chinese put the surname first, but in some instances they are reversed in this book. I would suggest that when dealing with a non-romanized language authors include the names in the original script. The author gives a timeline of the dynasties. I think it would have been more helpful if it had been juxtaposed with a timeline Westerners could relate to such as Biblical prophets and Roman emperors. There was one instance where the author describes and artifact, but doesn't provide a photo, which would have been helpful. Still, I think it's a terrific book.

Very Helpful
For a school research project I researched on the ancient beginnings of China. This book helped me tremendously in writing it. I found great information on the ancient dynasties in China and a lot of information I could not find any where else. If you are doing any type of reasearch project or essay on the dynasties of China I would select this book for you right off the bat.

not helpful at all
i used this for a school history project, and i had many questions in mind that i wanted to answer by reading this book.None of them were answered. Either my questions were to complicated, or this book was very unhelpful. (most probable is the second one) ... Read more

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South pointing chariots, walking machines and the astronomical mechanical clock are all used as illustrated examples in this fascinating and unique study of lost machinery in ancient China. This is the first book of its kind, combining creative mechanism design methodology with mechanical evolution and variation theory to set out how some ancient designs can be recreated. Furthermore the book reflects on how age-old wisdoms could stimulate stunning new machinery in the future.

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Provides personal histories of Chinese Americans who have lived through the twentieth century in the United States, including their difficulties during the exclusion era of World War II. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Up Close, They Look Like Ordinary People!
These are the first-person stories of some fifteen ordinary families - some composed by the subjects and some generated as oral histories - together with oodles of family photos - some in Old World regalia, some in tee-shirts and cut-offs; a cowboy, a NASCAR driver, a decorated Veteran, a Louisiana sheriff, a ballerina, an artist in his studio, a multi-millionaire real estate magnate with her bare feet up on her desk. They, like you and I, are all immigrants or the descendents of immigrants. In this album, the immigrants are Chinese.

In the current malodorous sump of American politics, where Screaming Heads on TV have more influence than face-to-face time with neighbors or books, certain demagogues have done their utmost to foment fear of immigration and loathing of immigrant groups who bring different religious cultures. The Chinese were subject to just such virulent racism during the last decades of the 19th Century. A national law was passed, by the Congress of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, to exclude the Chinese from immigration. They were branded as unassimilable, in large part because of their religion, or lack of a proper religion from a WASP perspective. They were called morally degenerate, phsyically unappealing, unsanitary, and over-sexed. It was a felony in many states for a "white" person to marry one. Certain writers, including Madison Grant, warned that they would outbreed the "great race" of Northern Europeans, that they had aspirations in fact to do so and to dominate the world.

One chapter in this book, concerning several generations of the Wong Family in Albert Lea, Minnesota, has powerful personal meaning to me. I was born on a farm near Albert Lea. My father was an immigrant and my mother's family were "old world" in all but clothing. There was one Chinese restaurant in the whole county, owned by the one Chinese family in Albert Lea, the Wongs. My mother went to high school with a Wong girl. I'd like to brag that they were friends, but the Wongs of her generation don't remember having friends until they moved away to Chicago and New York. One of the Wong girls married a Haitian in New York, becoming Eleanor Wong Telemaque, a writer. Shawn Wong also became a writer and a race-car driver. Eleanor's daughter Adrienne became a ballerina and married Philip Nash, of Irish and Japanese descent. I'm afraid my mother and her siblings lost a huge opportunity; the Wongs were probably the most interesting neighbors they had in Albert Lea, Minnesota in the 1930s.

Interesting.Lots of variety.
I bought this for my wife.She did not read it but I have.The portraits are of people with different experiences.It's a good read. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Compelling history, scholarly approach
The writers do a fine job tracking down early origins of the misunderstood Tiandihui, going into great detail proving the not-exactly-newsworthy conclusion that Tiandihui began as mutual aid societies. Over time, they evolved into various other forms, taking in revolutionary influences as well as criminal. In fact, as most knowledgeable Chinese know, such groups have always been mixed in agenda, and still are, as are most groupings across all societies in the world.

the history of triads
i think that this book is really good.Because it show us the history of how triads was first developed in China as a form to protect the people.But now in the present time they have turn into something else.They do a lot of illegal thing as mention in the book.I am a chinese myself.I guess by reading this book it also give me a view of how people are in the chinese race. ... Read more

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"An important history of Chinese American transnationalism, the book provides valuable insights into lesser known aspects of these immigrant lives, and allows us to understand Asian American history through the well-documented experiences of a family."—Yong Chen, author of Chinese San Francisco, 1850–1943: A Transpacific Community

"This brilliantly nuanced story . . . challenges us to rethink immigration and immigrant adaptation in the broader cross-cultural and transnational milieu."—Min Zhou, Inaugural chair of the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles

Family and home are one word—jia—in the Chinese language. Family can be separated and home may be relocated, but jia remains intact. It signifies a system of mutual obligation, lasting responsibility, and cultural values. This strong yet flexible sense of kinship has enabled many Chinese immigrant families to endure long physical separation and accommodate continuities and discontinuities in the process of social mobility.

Based on an analysis of over three thousand family letters and other primary sources, including recently released immigration files from the National Archives and Records Administration, Haiming Liu presents a remarkable transnational history of a Chinese family from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s. For three generations, the family lived between the two worlds. While the immigrant generation worked hard in an herbalist business and asparagus farming, the younger generation crossed back and forth between China and America, pursuing proper education, good careers, and a meaningful life during a difficult period of time for Chinese Americans. When social instability in China and a hostile racial environment in America prevented the family from being rooted in either side of the Pacific, transnational family life became a focal point of their social existence.

This well-documented and illustrated family history makes it clear that, for many Chinese immigrant families, migration does not mean a break from the past but rather the beginning of a new life that incorporates and transcends dual national boundaries. It convincingly shows how transnationalism has become a way of life for Chinese American families. ... Read more

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A story for every American Born Chinese
This is an amazing story. One the one hand, it's a story about a Chinese family that never forgot their roots in China. On the other, their travails and triumphs in America would have resonated with many Chinese American families that have settled in America since the 19th century.

The true story covered four generations. The Chinese doctor versed in traditional Chinese medicine was the first to come to California. He became financially well off by raising the level of health care in the then wild west and treated not just the Chinese but the whites as well.

He sent for his son who intended on staying only for a few years while helping his father run his business. Instead he never set foot on China again but lived to a ripe old age past 100 and died in Southern California.

The grandchildren were sent back to China for further education. The granddaughter met her husband in Tianjin who was to become a diplomat for the PRC. The WWII and conflict with Japan caused this generation to return to the U.S.

During the red baiting McCarthy era, the granddaughter and her husband had to surreptitiously find ways back to China. The husband went back first; they had a daughter by then and the mother and daughter went back a few years later. They hid from the FBI by staying on the Southern California farm.

The fourth generation American, the great granddaughter became a citizen of PRC and with her perfect American English played a key role when Nixon met Mao. I strongly recommend reading this history coming full circle. ... Read more

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Describes the events surrounding the Maoist revolution in China. ... Read more

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Tu Fu is, by universal consent, the greatest poet of the Chinese tradition and the epitome of the Chinese moral conscience at its highest.In Reconsidering Tu Fu, Eva Shan Chou examines Tu Fu both as a cultural monument and as a poet. She investigates the evolution of his stature as an icon, and provides translations of many poems, both well known and obscure.Her analyses are both original in their formulation and considerate of the many fine readings of traditional commentators. ... Read more

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Reconsidering Tu Fu: Literary Greatness and Cultural Context
Not only this book is a book of history, but also a book of poetry. Tu Fu, through his poems, history of his contemporary time was also revealed. Professor Chou has also analyzed thoroughly on the structure of the poems. I highly recommand this book for anyone who is doing a research in historical Chinese poetries. ... Read more

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The History of Chinese Philosophy is a comprehensive and authoritative examination of the movements and thinkers that have shaped Chinese philosophy over the last three thousand years. An outstanding team of international contributors provide seventeen accessible entries organised into five clear parts:

Identity of Chinese Philosophy

Classical Chinese Philosophy (I): Pre-Han Period

Classical Chinese Philosophy (II): From Han Through Tang

Classical Chinese Philosophy (III): From Song Through Early Qing

Modern Chinese Philosophy: From Late Qing Through 21st Century

This outstanding collection is essential reading for students of Chinese philosophy, and will be of interest to those seeking to explore the lasting significance this rich and complex philosophical tradition.

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Over 25 years, Jonathan Spence has established himself as an interpreter of modern Chinese history. In these essays, Spence engages the great themes of modern Chinese history and assesses his field with a critical eye. John Spence also wrote "The Search for Modern China", published in 1990. ... Read more

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Okay for Spence fans
Typical Jonanthan Spence fare, if that's your pleasure.If you're a fan of his (and I happen to think he's very good) or you're interested in the broader perspectives of Chinese-Western culture exchanges over the centuries, then you'll enjoy it.Otherwise you'll probably find it either abstruse or boring.Suit yourself. ... Read more

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SynopsisWritten by a well-known scholar on China, this text offers an expression of his lifelong engagement with this vast and ancient civilization. Fairbank's work provides a concise, comprehensive and authoritative account of China and its people over four millennia, from the emergence of Beijing man in the Paleolithic culture to the Tiananmen massacre of 1989. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

satisfied
The book arrived quickly and in gently loved condition.I would recommend this seller.

Does this book tell these facts
that Mao and his comrades killed millions of Chinese who were declared class enemies?
that Mao and his comrades starved to death over 30 million Chinese?
that Mao and his comrades caused mass suicides of millions of Chinese?
that Mao and his comrades effectively exterminated Chinese culture through mass murder and forced brain washing of its intellectuals?
that most (and the most important) communists were not killed by GMD but by communists themselves, in particular by Mao?
that the Republic of China fought a 14-year bloody war against Japan with minimal assistance from US and killed over half a million of Japanese?
that Mao and communists were only minor players in the war against Japan?
that the Chinese communists were the subordinates of Communist International and followed the orders ofStalin?
that in 1947, the Republic of China held the first (and still only) national election in China's history. Everyone (including women) had voting rights, but Mao's communists refused to participate?
that Mao's victory over the Republic of China resulted largely from the combination of Stalin's direct military support for Mao and betrayal of the Republic of China by Truman and many communist spies and sympathizers in the US government ?
that Mao's communists killed over 50,000 Americans in Korea and, provided billions upon billions of supplies for Viet Cong (while Chinese were starving), and were directly involved in fighting Americans in Vietnam?
that communists sent tanks to Beijing to crush students?
that Chinese communists are only now trying to restore Chinese culture, by faking but under the absolute control of the party?
that Chinese communists have millions of party chiefs at all levels of society?
that these millions of party chiefs are the overlords of all levels of government that are already largely controlled by other party officials?
that party chiefs in trouble, almost always as the result of political in-fighting, are investigated by party's own agencies?
that these millions of party chiefs are all generously paid by the forced taxation of 1.4 billion Chinese?
that these millions of party chiefs dictate the lives of Chinese and have made themselves super rich?
that the Republic of China in Taiwan is where authentic Chinese culture is kept alive up to this day?
that the Republic of China is a free society?
that the Republic of China in Taiwan is what mainland China could've been 60 years ago?
...
All in all, Mao and his comrades killed over 70-80 million Chinese and ruined the minds of at least four generations of Chinese. Even 30 years after Mao's reign of sheer terror, Communist China is still a totalitarian state and has a high probability of posing an even bigger threat than before to the free world!

Does this book by a naive Mao admirer tell these facts?
If one truly wants to know the real China in modern times, the must reads are June Chang's biography of Mao and Jay Taylor's biography of Chiang Kai-shek!

Enjoyed reading
Wish there was bit more coverage of earlier history of China as 1/2 the book covers 20th century China. I enjoyed his coverage of Mao and PRC politics, read like a novel to me.

He tried to throw some economics in his review of China which was good but his economics is very weak.Apparently he believes that there needs to a special form of economics different from the balance of humanity to explain China.There is something very unique and strange about China that makes macro economics and microeconomics useless in China. For some reason low cost labor is a problem and not an asset to China in his eyes.And of course we says we can not compare economic development in Taiwan with that of the PRC because they are different.

I do get a feeling he is one of those progressives that grew up in the 1930s hates classical liberals and really believed that Communism would work if it only could be tweaked a little and has only failed because of bad men such as Mao and Stalin.

Comprehensive Overview of Chinese History
This is a book written by an expert who devoted his life to understanding China and its history.The result is a highly informative look at the entirety of Chinese history.Because so much material is covered, the coverage of any period is brief, but the learning and insight of the treatment is manifest nonetheless.The treatment of the 20th Century is significantly more detailed than the treatment of the preceding thirty centuries, and would be an extremely valuable read for anyone wanting to understand contemporary China.The final chapters (dealing with recent Chinese history) are a supplement added by another scholar.The political and interpretive perspective of this author is differs somewhat from what one encounters in the rest of the text, and it is worth keeping that in mind while reading through this material.This is a great introduction to Chinese history for someone looking to be introduced to this topic who is willing to be a serious reader.

Covers a lot of ground but unevenly; self-indulgent at times too
I came away from reading this book with a much better understanding for Chinese history and culture.For that it can be recommended.

That said, it is uneven in scope and depth of coverage.One can argue that the earliest dynasties don't have too much relevance but they should have had more archeological coverage - just why did the civilization take off?Was it a river culture like the Nile, the Tigris, or the Indus?I think they said that the start was based on millet but when did rice become so dominant?

Some have said that China is a land island but the authors barely mentioned the links to other civilizations that could have challenged them other than the grass lands invaders.

Like so many academic works on history, the text is peppered with current political self-indulgences.Early in the text has a batch of Reagan harangues but they taper off quickly only to return near the end.Nothing dates and degrades a book and its author as much as such lack of self-discipline.

Some events and eras were particularly short-changed.The Red Guard era left me wondering - was it a baby boom effect like we saw in the West that Mao exploited?History requires more distance to be understood.

In sum, I think I've a better understanding of China and the Chinese and can put current events into better and deeper perspective thanks to this book.



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This is the first attempt ever made at a systematic analysis of classical Chinese supernatural fiction known as zhiguai under the morphological framework designed by Vladimir Propp (1928) and later developed by Alan Dundes (1964). The focus is on a synchronic presentation of textual features and structural patterns of zhiguai fiction, but the book includes a general review of zhiguai literature from Sahnhai Jin to Liaozhai Zhiyi. ... Read more

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The history of China is, in a way, a history of battles and wars. In fact, these events were so important that many of them have given rise to household proverbs and become an organic part of the culture of the nation. The eleven stories introduced in this book are, undoubtedly, the most representative of warfare in ancient China, including the earliest and largest wars and those that led to the fall of empires and dynasties.

The wars described in this book are not only spell-binding stories, but they also reflect the wisdom of ancient strategists, providing an insight into the attitudes and thinking of the ancient people about warfare and a window into ancient Chinese society. Illustrated. ... Read more

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Review of Rise and Fall of the Empires: War Stories in Ancient China
Found it readable and it puts into correct perspective when the incidents occurred.
The book came in fine condition and on time. ... Read more

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Describes the experiences of Chinese immigrants upon arriving in the United States in 1850. The reader s choices reveal historical details from the perspective of Chinese immigrants who mine for gold, work on the Transcontinental Railroad, or settle in San Francisco s Chinatown. ... Read more

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Realism and a Good Dose of Chance
I have ordered multiple copies of this book for inclusion in an archeaology/history trunk that will be circulated from our state's historical society. A lesson plan on the Chinese immigrant experience has been designed around them. The episodes are brief, so not a big time commitment out of Social Studies classes is necessary. The episodes are also realistic -- not every adventure chosen by students will culminate in a happy ending. Just like the real Chinese immigrants, students may or may not be successful (or survive) as a result of their choices. In their work as underpaid miners or railroad builders, Chinese died from explosions, avalanches, and other dangers, and these story lines are historically authentic. I have other titles in the "You Choose" series in my library; students really like them. I wish there were reading program quizzes available for them. ... Read more

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Beginning with the bloody communist purges of the Jiangxi era of the 1920s and moving forward to the wild excesses of the Cultural Revolution, Policing Chinese Politics explores the question of revolutionary violence and the political passion that propels it. "Who are our enemies, who are our friends, that is a question germane to the revolution," wrote Mao Zedong in 1926. Michael Dutton shows just how powerful this one line was to become. It would establish the binary division of life in revolutionary China and lead to both passionate commitment and revolutionary excess. The political history of revolutionary China, then, is largely framed by the attempts of Mao and the Party to harness these passions.

The economic reform period that followed Mao Zedong’s rule offers a hint as to how the magic spell of political faith and commitment can be broken, but it also shows that such disenchantment comes at a considerable cost. This detailed, empirical tale of Chinese socialist policing is, therefore, more than simply a police story. It is a parable that offers a cogent analysis of Chinese politics generally while radically redrafting our understanding of what politics is all about. Breaking with the traditional elite modes of political analyses that focus on personalities, factions, and betrayals, and from ‘rational’ accounts of politics and government, Dutton provides a highly original understanding of the far-reaching consequences of acts of faith and commitment in the realm of politics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Before Mao
This book is about Chinese history up to 1943. Very easy to read, though I did have to get used to the old way of spelling the city and province names. It's defintely written in favor of democracy and people like Chang Kai Sjek, China's George Washington according to Nourse.

It is interesting because it is before Mao, but for some reason you get the feeling that the plan for communism has been in place for ever. Always rigid and hierarchical with one person on top.

Mao is mentioned once as head of the communist party.

China up to World War II
This book was originally published under the title "The Four Hundred Million" a short but comprehensive history of China and its people.

In the old style of history writing the rulers are still looked at the most and you will read about all the dynasties both Chinese and foreign that ruled this ancient country. From the mythical start up to China in the Second World War because that is where this book ends. Mao is only mentioned once as the chairman of the communist party in China.

As it says in the dustjacket, it's not a dry collection of facts but a biography of a nation which already shows some signs of what was to come in the decade after this book. ... Read more