A fascinating book about the history and culture of China.
The history of China spans thousands of years. Journey through China in th... read full description
The history of China spans thousands of years. Journey through China in th... read full description
reviews
Feb 04, 2011
Heidi
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Mah, author of the memoirs, Falling Leaves and Chinese Cinderella, has attempted to span 2200 years of CHinese history in this one small book. Without a doubt, she succeeds, as she draws the readers into the world of silk, warlords, and dynasties. The text is well organized, mainly by dynasty, and anecdotal information is describe on pages printed with gray scrolls. Black and white photos, illustrations, and maps supplement the text. One item which detracted from the book was the lack of pag
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Aug 13, 2009
Heidi
rated it: 
I processed this book into the library collection last week but never really considered reading it until this year when the students began working on an Ancient China assignment and our collection was coming up rather short. Mah's book was catalogued as modern Chinese history, and I wanted to work out whether it was miscatalogued, and whether it could be helpful to kids in their ancient China assignment.
It is a *very* basic introduction to Chinese history; very much an overview. It More...
It is a *very* basic introduction to Chinese history; very much an overview. It More...
Apr 28, 2011
Melissa
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This book blew me away. It think it was mostly the scope and subject that was so fascinating (though clean, clear writing helps). I honestly can't believe how little I've known about Chinese history. It was a "Hey, listen to this," sort of book for me. Some of those emperors was downright brutal. I even found myself ranting out of the blue at a family party about the heartless British opium trade. I only regret that much of this information was so new to me that I've already forgotten
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Dec 03, 2011
Erin
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I really enjoyed this brief little history of China. I felt that the topics and people it focused within the different time periods were relevant, interesting, and consequently well-chosen. I would have really liked more constructed visuals that imparted information like more maps over time, city maps, buildings,and something that showed how long each dynasty lasted since the numbers are hard to relate to each other. While I really appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the book (nice size, go
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May 16, 2010
Shirley
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fabulous summary of the what's most important in China's history. would definitely recommend this book for someone who has little knowledge of the dynasties. most importantly, it's not boring or dense but indicates the importance of the 6 major dynasties. a lot of other books, list all the dynasties and it's way too confusing and complicated to comprehend especially with over 5000 years of history involved. what inventions did the chinese made? paper, wheelbarrow, crossbow, matches, silk, s
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Jan 24, 2012
Emily
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Finished this book as a light reading in attempt to reconnect myself with my ancestry. The book was, honestly, a little dry but with interesting little nuggets smuggled in between. Very concise and easy to understand, but is not enough to feed the curious mind of a history student. It prompted me to re-watch Princess Pearl (Huanzhu Princess) series and taken my interest on old imperial chinese culture a little deeper. Refreshing.
Dec 13, 2009
Jinbin
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In this book, Adeline Yen Mah leads the readers thousands of years back to the history of China. She starts the book telling the story of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. In chronological order, she goes on with the dynasties following the first and their significant roles in China's history. From this book, I learned that the Chinese first invented matches, paper, gunpowder and many other tools that people used. However, they were not smart enough to greatly utilize those tools. For exampl
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May 03, 2010
Heather
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This book was fascinating and made me want to learn more. My only complaint has nothing to do with the author or the book, but with the copy editor. The tracking in multiple lines throughout the book was so overly condensed that words blended together and were hard to read. Very annoying, especially because the book itself is top-notch.
Feb 27, 2011
Fantastically depicted history of China, informative and enjoyable without really feeling like you were in a classroom. I’m not really sure how to go about reviewing this novel, since I don’t usually review nonfiction. I can’t judge characters or plot..... since there aren’t any.
I’m not usually a nonfiction fan, but I actually enjoyed reading this one. It didn’t take me too long and it was actually interesting. The novel breaks down the book by Dynastys and explains what happened du More...
I’m not usually a nonfiction fan, but I actually enjoyed reading this one. It didn’t take me too long and it was actually interesting. The novel breaks down the book by Dynastys and explains what happened du More...
Mar 11, 2010
Kaethe
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I'm reading some of this aloud, and the KitKatPandaBatWolf is also reading this to herself. She would like everyone to know that she thinks its great.
Jan 17, 2011
Lori
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Very good book for an interesting overview of Chinese history. It tells China's story without getting bogged down in dates, etc.
Jul 18, 2011
I received this book as a thank you gift for participating in the Random House Children's Books Teacher Advisory Board.
May 13, 2009
Pip
rated it:
lots of great information about China, a bit dense, may be a bit dry for kids
Feb 12, 2012
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