Synopses & Reviews
A concise and thorough history of one of the world's most powerful nations This brilliantly lucid and concise study traces China's history and culture from Neolithic times to the present, working into an integrated and authoritative narrative that covers centuries of politics, warfare and government, science and technology, economics and commerce, religion, philosophy, and the arts. Most valuable of all, Dr. Morton illuminates the essential Chinese design, the underlying mental set of the people and the society. He has given approximately equal treatment to all premodern periods, as each has its importance in the evolving history of the Chinese experience, and has illustrated the work with numerous photographs, maps, paintings and drawings and quotations from the literature.
Newly updated and revised, China: Its History and Culture, Fourth Edition, also carefully examines the crucial social and economic changes that have taken place in China over the last decade.
"A wonderful job! So lucid, beautifully written, with great range and insight. This will set a new standard for short general histories of China."--Michael Gasster, professor emeritus of history at Rutgers University
"Simple, concise, factual, and yet comprehensive, penetrating and readable."--Wing-Tsit Chan, Professor of Chinese Philosophy and Culture Emeritus, Dartmouth College
Synopsis
“A wonderful job! So lucid, beautfully written, with great range and insight. This will set a new standard for short general histories of China.” Michael Gasster, professor emeritus of history at Rutgers University
Newly updated and revised, China: Its History and Culture, Fourth Edition, incorporates the crucial social and economic changes that have taken place in China over the last decade. Through rich detail and engaging illustrations, the book traces Chinas history from Neolithic times to the present day.
About the Author
W. Scott Morton (New York, NY) is a full professor emeritus in Chinese and Japanese history and culture and in ancient history at Seton Hall University, in New Jersey.
Charlton N. Lewis (Brooklyn, NY) is a professor emeritus of Chinese history at Brooklyn College, CUNY.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations xi
Foreword by Professor Wing-tsit Chan xiii
Preface to the Fourth Edition xvii
Acknowledgments xix
A Note on Spelling and Pronunciation xxi
Introduction 1
1 The Land and the People of China 5
2 Origins and Early History 11
3 The Formative Period 22
Zhou Dynasty: 1027–221 b.c.
4 Religion and Philosophy 29
5 Unification and Expansion 45
Qin Dynasty: 221–206 b.c.
Han Dynasty: 206 b.c.–a.d. 221
6 Outsiders, Generals, and Eccentrics 71
The Six Dynasties Period: a.d. 222–589
7 The Flowering of Chinese Civilization 81
Sui Dynasty: 589–618
Tang Dynasty: 618–907
8 The Chinese Enter on Their Modern Times 98
Five Dynasties: 907–960, North China
Ten Kingdoms: 907–970, South China
Song Dynasty: 960–1126
Jin Dynasty (Jurchen): 1126–1234, North China
Southern Song Dynasty: 1127–1279, South China
9 The Mongol Interruption 115
Yuan Dynasty: 1280–1368
10 The Restoration and Consolidation of Chinese Rule 123
Ming Dynasty: 1368–1644
11 The Manzhou: Summit and Decline of the Empire 137
Qing Dynasty: 1644–1911
12 The Impact of the West in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 148
13 The Republican Revolution 1900–1949 175
14 The Communist Revolution 1949–1965 201
15 The Cultural Revolution and Its Aftermath 1966–1978 215
16 Deng Xiaoping and the Reform Era 1978–1992 227
17 The Party, Greater China, and the Wider World 1993–2003 242
18 A Changing Society 261
Chronology 287
Selected Bibliography 295
Index 299