A Brief History of Chinese Civilization

by Conrad Schirokauer

This concise book emphasizes Chinese cultural history while also covering political and economic history. It is introductory in both style and content, and the organization is kept as simple as possible. Brief coverage of each major Chinese dynasty or other discrete period is treated in a separate chapter. Coverage includes recent developments in China, up to and including the massacre at Tiananmen Square. Timelines, charts, or key dates appear at the beginning of chapters. Chinese names are printed in Pinyin with Wade-Giles in parentheses.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, China, Asia, Textbooks

415 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much about Chinese history quickly with this book. I read it after reading China, Edward Rutherfurd's novel to see how accurate the story held to the facts. I was pleasantly surprised how easy a read this was and how closely it aligned with Mr Rutherfurd's telling.

I will re-read this book as it has given me a clear perspective to China's motives and political view of the West.

[Chris J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of information in here that is not all that interesting to the average reader who is merely looking to increase his/her general understanding of Chinese history. I would suggest some other work over this one.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0

A well-written book about Chinese history across dynasties. Maybe this is because the book was so short, but one gets the feeling that some of the perspectives/opinions expressed throughout are somewhat Western or otherwise limited.

[Eduardo Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buen libro para aproximarse a la historia de China hasta finales del siglo XX.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good brief introduction to Chinese history from the Stone Age (neo-lithic) to 20th century. Focus on political, intellectual and economic histories but also cover cultures and arts. Useful timelines and maps.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very well written and approachable, but the way it goes through the historical events and then backtracks to revisit the cultural elements is jarring.

[Ioana]

interesting and succinct.. I'm not a big history book reader but it seems
well done