East Asia: A New History

by Rhoads Murphey

This accessible text offers a comprehensive history of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, including coverage of everyday life, women and gender-related issues, and the environment–topics often neglected in other texts. Throughout his distinguished career, author Rhoads Murphey has inspired within students an appreciation for the rich and unique history of Asia. The Fifth Edition of this text on East Asia is certain to bring this fascinating region to life for many of today’s students.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

520 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1996

Reviews

[Cold Cream 'n' Roses]

Chapter 4
Xin and Han dynasties

Xin: suppressed intellectuals (shades of Mao!); burned books (Chinese valued written word); construction of Great Wall; construction of tomb with terracotta soldiers

Han: loosened restrictions of Xin dynasty. Silk Road. Missed opportunities to meet the Romans. Sophistication of Han empire commensurate with that of Rome and that of Mauryan India. It was gratifying to see the mention of India in a neutral context.

[Jef]

Very readable and very informative. A fair-minded and comprehensive overview that does not merely dryly list the “names and dates” of East Asian history, does not just cover who is in power when, but also illuminates the human motivations: guiding philosophies, differing perspectives, economic realities, political ideologies, technological characteristics, and cultural backdrops that shape beliefs which in turn shape actions — in other words, not just the what but the why — an approach that makes the content both more comprehensible and more interesting. Very well done. All history textbooks should be like this.

[Tess]

This is the worst history text I have ever been forced to buy. The writing is about as sloppy as a paper drunkly written the night before it's due date. I can't believe it was ever put to print. Are editors in short supply? I never thought I would need to say this but, how about a little humility? Such authority is implied with such few sources...It was simply infuriating.

[Martha Smith]

History textbook. A brief overview of East Asian history. Brief but still daunting. This is a great book for a beginner's survey course.

[Timothy Drake]

Very well written and informative overview of East Asia's long and exciting history.

[Seth]

This was dry, even for me. However, it was quite informative and well researched. Required class text.

[Leah]

This book is destroying my life! But it's also very interesting.

[Sébastien]

Good intro to the subject.