Complete History of China
From the pre-written period to the end of the twentieth century, eminent British historian John Kay presents a sweeping sequential history of China. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources, including unpublished ones, this book is already recognized as a classic throughout the world. A detailed introduction provides an introduction to China's geography, the chronology of its history, and the peculiarities of its language, toponyms, and proper names. In the following sections, you will learn all about the legendary Five Emperors, the mythical kingdom of Xia and the pre-imperial states of Shang and Zhou, archaeological finds from the Bronze and Iron Ages, the period of the Battling Kingdoms; the influence of Confucius, the unification of China by the First Emperor Qin Shih-huangdi, the Qin Cultural Revolution, the rise and fall of the Han, the rule of the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties, the Five Empires and Ten States, and the triumph and fall of the Ming. Topics covered include the Manchu conquest, the situations in Dzungaria, Xinjiang, and Tibet, the Qing crisis, the course of the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion, the Boxer Rebellion, the country's transition from empire to republic, the events of the Russo-Japanese, World Wars I and II, and Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution. With a solid reference apparatus, color inserts, maps and tables, the edition will be of interest to a wide range of readers. "This book is designed to fulfill a pressing need - to present the reader with an overview of Chinese history that does not require prior familiarity with the subject or knowledge of the Chinese language to understand...Chinese history is quite long and the culture quite complex. I sincerely hope that readers' efforts will be rewarded handsomely in the end." (John Kay)
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author
- All books in the series Historical interest