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An Outline History of China (China Knowledge Series)
English, Chinese (translation)
565 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 28, 2021
An excellent materialist overview of the 5000+ year history of China. I've rarely read a work of history more rigorously focused on class relations, while also making an all round evaluation of trends in science and art of each major period. Basic western education is sorely lacking in historical context for the long development of China's civilization and its contribution to the world, and this did a fantastic job filling in the gaps for me. Highly recommended.
April 25, 2022
DNF. Got about halfway through. This is very badly written. It's more of a catalog or chronicle -- reign after excruciating reign -- than a history.
Currently Reading
August 1, 2013So far, Mr Shouyi moves briskly through dynasty after dynasty (I'm currently at the golden age of the Tang after the confusing splintering of the Eastern Han dynasty that resulted in the three kingdoms, and then the sixteen states. For those not exactly familiar with the geography of China, it can prove a somewhat confusing read (my copy does have a fold-out map, but it would be of some benefit to have a map with key cities/players intercalated throughout - my method has been to keep the separate kingdoms/empires separate in my mind by associating them with their area of north, north-east, south, etc). It can also prove challenging to keep the names clear in one's head (is he referring to Emperor Wen Di of the Shu, or Wen Di of the Northern QI, or...?). One has to be accustomed to the lack of diversity of names (so many people named Liu, Xie, Xian, Zhou, etc.), and this is impeded in part by how briskly Shouyi covers them all, not necessarily permitting the reader to "connect" to those named.
One also has to read this book with a big lump of salt, keeping in mind that Mr Shouyi was a highly decorated historian during the height of Mao, and after Mao's death during the shift in ideological priorities. So, the reader should be prepared to find a great deal of ink shed on topics that highlight peasant rebellions against the feudal state through a somewhat romanticist lens, left-handed criticisms of various imperial policies, and the obligatory doses of Marxist lingo. This should not come as a surprise given that this is a text translated in English for an English-speaking audience, of a piece with ferrying a few Chinese communist principles as part of a foreign relations blitz (following, of course, the famous Ping Pong Diplomacy during Nixon's presidency).
The chapters are very cleanly laid out, with subheadings that announce what the content will deliver - which they do. As an "outline" text, one cannot fault Mr Shouyi for not lingering on any period with more detail. The prose is workmanlike, occasionally composed of very simple or short sentences, and just a few pardonable linguistic errors that should not detract from the flow of the book.
My copy, produced by Beijing Press (1979), comes with both B&W and coloured glossy pages that sport illustration plates, all of them so far concerning archaeological objects arranged by dynastic period. If you thrill to linguistic development, it is interesting to observe how the Chinese idiographic characters develop from a small set of simple characters recorded on oracle bones up through its complexification, partially necessitated by a corresponding complexity of state apparatus (involving sometimes convoluted feudal charters and penal codes).
One very dominant theme that emerges in any of my reading of Chinese history is the importance played by the control of water. As China is marbled with several substantial rivers of incredible length, one aspect of demonstrating power was in how one organized major projects for digging canals and shifting the flow of these rivers for purposes of water conservation, irrigation, and trade (if not also as simply a means of showing off one's mastery over nature as proof of one's claim to power).
Mr Shouyi also dedicates to each chapter a section on the cultural and intellectual life of each dynastic period, including the philosophies (such as Taoism, Legalism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and the literature (including the poetic conventions of the time, and historical accounts).
I would recommend this book to those who want to fill a gap in their historical knowledge, especially among those of us for whom historical knowledge has been dominated by a distinctly western canon that starts with the Greeks, Romans, and moves narrowly to include the rise of Europe. I would, however, caution readers that there is some heavy ideological bias in the way the history is written by way of how the author chooses to focus on class contradictions and economic development as a function of class consciousness, etc. This, for a more objective reader, should not prove a major impediment to acquiring something of value from the book.
One also has to read this book with a big lump of salt, keeping in mind that Mr Shouyi was a highly decorated historian during the height of Mao, and after Mao's death during the shift in ideological priorities. So, the reader should be prepared to find a great deal of ink shed on topics that highlight peasant rebellions against the feudal state through a somewhat romanticist lens, left-handed criticisms of various imperial policies, and the obligatory doses of Marxist lingo. This should not come as a surprise given that this is a text translated in English for an English-speaking audience, of a piece with ferrying a few Chinese communist principles as part of a foreign relations blitz (following, of course, the famous Ping Pong Diplomacy during Nixon's presidency).
The chapters are very cleanly laid out, with subheadings that announce what the content will deliver - which they do. As an "outline" text, one cannot fault Mr Shouyi for not lingering on any period with more detail. The prose is workmanlike, occasionally composed of very simple or short sentences, and just a few pardonable linguistic errors that should not detract from the flow of the book.
My copy, produced by Beijing Press (1979), comes with both B&W and coloured glossy pages that sport illustration plates, all of them so far concerning archaeological objects arranged by dynastic period. If you thrill to linguistic development, it is interesting to observe how the Chinese idiographic characters develop from a small set of simple characters recorded on oracle bones up through its complexification, partially necessitated by a corresponding complexity of state apparatus (involving sometimes convoluted feudal charters and penal codes).
One very dominant theme that emerges in any of my reading of Chinese history is the importance played by the control of water. As China is marbled with several substantial rivers of incredible length, one aspect of demonstrating power was in how one organized major projects for digging canals and shifting the flow of these rivers for purposes of water conservation, irrigation, and trade (if not also as simply a means of showing off one's mastery over nature as proof of one's claim to power).
Mr Shouyi also dedicates to each chapter a section on the cultural and intellectual life of each dynastic period, including the philosophies (such as Taoism, Legalism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and the literature (including the poetic conventions of the time, and historical accounts).
I would recommend this book to those who want to fill a gap in their historical knowledge, especially among those of us for whom historical knowledge has been dominated by a distinctly western canon that starts with the Greeks, Romans, and moves narrowly to include the rise of Europe. I would, however, caution readers that there is some heavy ideological bias in the way the history is written by way of how the author chooses to focus on class contradictions and economic development as a function of class consciousness, etc. This, for a more objective reader, should not prove a major impediment to acquiring something of value from the book.
March 18, 2022
Este es uno de los pocos libros de historia china con perspectiva china que ha sido traducido a múltiples idiomas por la editorial china Foreign Languages/ediciones en Lenguas Extranjeras. Aunque la traducción en español contiene varios errores, principalmente sintácticos, es una buena síntesis de la historia imperial china. Lo que puede extrañar e incluso incomodar a los lectores occidentales en pleno siglo XXI es el fuerte sesgo marxista, el libro está estructurado y planteado desde el materialismo histórico, una aplicación que en los últimos años también se ha difuminado y replanteado en la historiografía China contemporánea, aunque sin abandonarla por completo. Sin tener en cuenta el marco teórico y conceptual, criticable por supuesto, sigue siendo una introducción bastante decente que recorre desde la prehistoria hasta 1919 en medio millar de páginas. Incluye además árboles genealógicos de las dinastías, ilustraciones a color y un mapa desplegable, cosas a tener en cuenta por el precio reducido de los libros publicados por esta editorial china, y que nunca se ven en otros libros de historia general china.
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January 12, 2022had to read this book for my Chinese civilization class, it was very informative, clear and it's also a good insight not only into the vast subject that is China's history but also into "marxist archaeology" and general materialist approach to history.
May 2, 2020
ovviamente legato all'ideologia dominante, con 2 contraddizioni", citazioni di Lenin e Engels. Nessuna cartina per aiutarmi a identificare i luoghi- che peraltro sembrano aver cambiato nome, e si ferma a poco oltre gli anni 20. nemmeno il Manciukuo
October 23, 2008
By far the best book I've read on a background history of china !
Want to Read
February 29, 2016Good!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews