China to 1850: A Short History

by Charles O. Hucker

Book by Hucker, Charles O.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction

162 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1978

Reviews

[Leothefox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't often do non-fiction or history, so this is a tad different for me. The history of China is a long, huge, fascinating thing, and lucky for me Hucker crammed the whole thing into a digestible package! In the prologue he explains various attempts at classifying Chinese history and his reasoning on divining it into 3 distinctive periods (which also explains why the book ends with 1850).

“China to 1850” was written in 1975, which gives it some datedness in language, but for the most part it's no hindrance. The only real difficulties come from the sheer volume of successive emperors and dynasties (even shrunk to 160 pages, it is still quite a parade) and my own failing at keeping the names straight.

Hucker wrote a very readable textbook and it raises interesting points on government, societal development, world relations, etc. Religious, philosophical, and political forces are all laid out pretty clearly too. I also appreciated Hucker's clear summation on the death of imperial China. Much like in the modern world, it seemed like a leader couldn't improve the plight of the lower classes for love or money.

This was very much outside of my normal sphere, but it was well-packaged and often fascinating.

[Joe Santoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This works decently as a vague overview of Chinese history, which is what I was looking for, but feels like it was written in 1958 based on the western slant of the author... there's no attempt here to be authentic, it's definitely an outsiders view.

Still. it places the Han/Three Kingdoms era in context better for me,which is what I was going for.

[Samsara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think anyone dares to squeeze 5000 years of China history into a 200-page book have my applause. As a Chinese myself, it is interesting to see how Westerner see China's history. The names are absolutely horrible though. I have to guess what the author means, better update with the latest PinYin system and simply add Chinese name as well.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for its purpose - a quick overview of the premodern history of China. If you have background in the subject the book won't bring anything new - but it's great if you want to get a whole picture of the different dynasties. I still think it could have been a bit longer.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Def some outdated language and stuff because it was written in the 70s but the info is still good and it's written very concisely. Also, a lot of info is skipped over to maintain brevity(it's only 160 pages for 1000s of years of history). Still worth a read and it does (unsurprisingly) read quick.

[Ofirbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very basic book that explain shortly the imperial history of traditional China till 1850.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

fine intro to chinese history, but weirdly racist and kind of outdated

[Michael Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

FWIW, My Former Roommate with an Advanced Degree In Chinese History Says Here’s A Very Good Place To Start. I Liked It. 5 Stars.

[Ben Lashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for a short overview of Chinese history to kill time and this did the trick. Of little value otherwise.

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, in 150 pages, sails through almost 4000 years of civilization in the Far East. Through this whirlwind, Hucker’s thesis --- that Chinese history is dominated by three themes: southern expansion, invasion from the north, and cycles of unity and disunity --- comes through. Every detail intrigued me, but the glosses of the Warring States Era (403-221 BC), the Three Kingdoms Era (220-280) and Kubilai Khan’s reign (1260-94) during the Yüan dynasty especially interested me. Hucker also said some interesting things about the land and the Chinese language, but on the whole, this is a work for people who know absolutely nothing about China.

[Teagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book as a textbook for my Chinese History class. Unfortunately, it was weekly reading. I have fallen asleep countless times reading this because it is just an onslaught of facts upon facts. The subject switches so incredibly fast, making it hard and uninteresting to follow. I am actually sad to say this, but I wish it was longer so I could have more time to absorb the information. This is probably the most uninteresting text I have had to read for college yet.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good for a book on all of Chinese history to 1850 that's only 157 pages. You don't get much more concise than that.

[Dylan_Podwell]

Great and very descriptive history book does the best job summarizing the history shortly