Chinese Civilization and Society: A Sourcebook

by Ebrey (Editor)

The standard for supplementary texts in Chinese history courses.

Contents:
The Classical period. The metal bound box --
Hexagrams --
Songs and poems --
The battle of Chin and Ch'u --
Confucius --
Chuang Tzu. The Han Dynasty. The debate on salt and iron --
Rules for visiting --
Social relations --
Two women --
The interaction of yin and yang --
Local cults --
Uprisings. The era of division and the T'ang dynasty. Ko Hung's autobiography --
Dedicatory colophons --
A woman's hundred years --
The examination system --
Household registration --
Slaves --
Family division. The Sung and Yuan dynasties. Book of rewards and punishments --
Precepts of the Perfect Truth Taoist sect --
Ancestral rites --
The shrew --
The problems of women --
Rules for the Fan lineage's charitable estate --
The attractions of the capital --
The mutual responsibility system --
On farming --
A schedule for learning --
Kuo Pi's diary. The Ming dynasty. Proclamations of the Hung-wu emperor. Laws against theft and robbery --
Maxims for daily life --
The dragon boat race --
Village ordinances --
Routine commercial procedures --
What the weaver said --
Tenants --
Shi Chin, the nine-dragoned --
Merchants in the Ming --
Family instructions --
The spite of Lotus --
Li Chih's letters. The Ch'ing dynasty. Parables and ghost stories --
Proverbs about heaven --
Almanac --
Taxes and labor service --
Permanent property --
Lan Ting-yüan's casebook --
Exhortations on ceremony and deference --
Village organization --
The village headman and the new teacher --
Boat people --
Infant protection society --
Mid-century rebels --
The conditions and activities of workers --
Marriage contracts --
Genealogy rules --
Families and lineages of Yen-yüan county. The early twentieth century. The movement against footbinding --
The new prefect --
Rural education --
The Shanghai Builders' Guild --
On freeing slave girls --
My old home --
The Hai-feng Peasant Association --
The dog-meat general --
The general strike --
Funeral processions --
My wife and child --
Birth customs --
The life of beggars --
Spring silkworms --
The orange grower and the old sailor. The People's Republic. Land reform --
Hu Feng's letters --
The state budget and the standard of living --
A new young man at the organization department --
Developing agricultural production --
The correct handling of love, marriage, and family problems --
The spring festival --
Lei Feng, Chairman Mao's good fighter --
Housing in Shanghai --
Red Guards --
My accusations --
The nature of diseases --
Modern models for family life and marriage --
Population control and the four modernizations.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction, Asia, Reference, Textbooks, Politics

429 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ebrey acts like a curator of textual museum pieces, providing snippets of writing like a gallery of snapshots. She presents an almost random selection of material from people of almost every station--nuns, farmers, courtesans, merchants, bandits, accountants. The pieces of writing these people leave behind are like pieces of papyrus from the refuse pits of Egypt. Much of this writing was never intended for publication, and this is part of its authenticity. Ebrey wants a thousand authentic glimpses of the past rather than a modern person's rational summary.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book of primary sources, Ebrey has selected passages that reflect the ongoing development of Chinese culture – a daunting task for one volume. There are some obvious selections with lasting relevance, such as this passage from the Laozi:

“Do not honor the worthy,
And the people will not compete.
Do not value rare treasures,
And the people will not steal.
Do not display what others want,
And the people will not have their hearts confused.
A sage governs this way:
He empties people’s minds and fills their bellies.
He weakens their wills and strengthens their bones.
Keep the people always without knowledge and without desires,
For then the clever will not dare act.
Engage in no action and order will prevail.”

More obscure but equally interesting are a number of passages. I found this one particularly interesting and somewhat in line with the previous passage:

“Recently, a system of salt and iron monopolies, a liquor excise tax, and an equable marketing system have been established throughout the country. These represent financial competition with the people which undermines their native honesty and promotes selfishness. As a result, few among the people take up the fundamental pursuits [agriculture] while many flock to the secondary [trade and industry]. When artificiality thrives, simplicity declines; when the secondary flourishes, the basic decays. Stress on the secondary makes the people decadent; emphasis on the basic keeps them unsophisticated. When the people are unsophisticated, wealth abounds; when they are extravagant, cold and hunger ensue.”

To those who have grown up in western civilization, these are very different thought processes on what makes good governance. That’s the point in reading a book like this however, to expose the historical reality of different systems and cultures. All in all, this is an interesting read.

See my other reviews here!

[Ashine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book to get an authentic understanding of China

For a long time I was struggling to find books that could help my Western friends have an authentic, comprehensive and unfiltered understanding of Chinese culture, society and history. This is by far the one and only book I recommended to my families and friends. Living in North America for years, I’m still often astonished by people’s lack of any BASIC level of understanding of China...Most people know nothing about this nation and culture with a history of 5000 years. Pathetically, the medias keep feeding public’s innocence and bias, instead of providing the authentic and whole vision. Hope more people get to read it.

[Anthony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read selections from this book during my freshman year of university. Primary source documents can be really dull if you don't know what you're looking for; however, these documents were chosen to be read in conjunction with Patricia Buckley Ebrey's main textbook, 「The Cambridge Illustrated History of China,」which, in my opinion, is an excellent overall perspective of Chinese history. This primary-source book was compiled by Ebrey, so both books work very well together.

[Cole Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adored this book. These mainly primary source readings were fascinating and were my favorite readings of the semester. The sourcebook has a wide variety of reading son different topics ranging from the family to the economy in past China. It also goes up to the modern era of China. Very useful and interesting.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

A random collection of historical readings in English from Chinese sources. Since there are no Chinese characters used in the book in the 1981 edition, it would be tough to find the original source. Includes a bibliography. It might be worth checking out a later edition.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good reference to Chinese history, inserting excerpts of historical Chinese writing, translated into English. I can definitely see myself breaking into this book often when I'm trying to explore a specific era in Chinese history.

[AskHistorians]

Another standard find in intro Chinese history courses in college.