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Author: Mark Elvin Publisher: Stanford University Press ISBN: 9780804708760 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 358
Book Description
A satisfactory comprehensive history of the social and economic development of pre-modern China, the largest country in the world in terms of population, and with a documentary record covering three millennia, is still far from possible. The present work is only an attempt to disengage the major themes that seem to be of relevance to our understanding of China today. In particular, this volume studies three questions. Why did the Chinese Empire stay together when the Roman Empire, and every other empire of antiquity of the middle ages, ultimately collapsed? What were the causes of the medieval revolution which made the Chinese economy after about 1100 the most advanced in the world? And why did China after about 1350 fail to maintain her earlier pace of technological advance while still, in many respects, advancing economically? The three sections of the book deal with these problems in turn but the division of a subject matter is to some extent only one of convenience. These topics are so interrelated that, in the last analysis, none of them can be considered in isolation from the others.
Author: Mark Elvin Publisher: Stanford University Press ISBN: 9780804708760 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 358
Book Description
A satisfactory comprehensive history of the social and economic development of pre-modern China, the largest country in the world in terms of population, and with a documentary record covering three millennia, is still far from possible. The present work is only an attempt to disengage the major themes that seem to be of relevance to our understanding of China today. In particular, this volume studies three questions. Why did the Chinese Empire stay together when the Roman Empire, and every other empire of antiquity of the middle ages, ultimately collapsed? What were the causes of the medieval revolution which made the Chinese economy after about 1100 the most advanced in the world? And why did China after about 1350 fail to maintain her earlier pace of technological advance while still, in many respects, advancing economically? The three sections of the book deal with these problems in turn but the division of a subject matter is to some extent only one of convenience. These topics are so interrelated that, in the last analysis, none of them can be considered in isolation from the others.
Author: Charles Desnoyers Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 9780199946457 Category : China Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
"While there are a great many books that deal with Chinese history as a whole, or with modern Chinese history in the twentieth century, or thematically (e.g. 'Revolution' economics, etc.) this book deals with a broad narrative, introductory but detailed, of the period starting with the Qing Dynasty, 1644-1912 and takes it to the present. The narrative arc begins with imperial China's greatest extent of wealth and power, traces it through its downward spiral and ultimate demise, and follows its revolutions, civil wars, invasions, radical political interlude, and rise once again to world prominence"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Mark Elvin Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 0300133537 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 592
Book Description
The eminent China scholar delivers a landmark study of Chinese culture’s relationship to the natural environment across thousands of years of history. Spanning the three millennia for which there are written records, The Retreat of the Elephants is the first comprehensive environmental history of China. It is also a treasure trove of literary, political, aesthetic, scientific, and religious sources, which allow the reader direct access to the views and feelings of Chinese people toward their environment and their landscape. China scholar and historian Mark Elvin chronicles the spread of the Chinese style of farming that eliminated elephant habitats; the destruction of most of the forests; the impacts of war on the landscape; and the re-engineering of the countryside through gigantic water-control systems. He documents the histories of three contrasting localities within China to show how ecological dynamics defined the lives of the inhabitants. And he shows that China in the eighteenth century was probably more environmentally degraded than northwestern Europe around this time. Indispensable for its new perspective on long-term Chinese history and its explanation of the roots of China’s present-day environmental crisis, this book opens a door into the Chinese past.
Author: Ralph D. Sawyer Publisher: Basic Books ISBN: 0465023347 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 576
Book Description
The history of China is a history of warfare. Rarely in its 3,000-year existence has the country not been beset by war, rebellion, or raids. Warfare was a primary source of innovation, social evolution, and material progress in the Legendary Era, Hsia dynasty, and Shang dynasty--indeed, war was the force that formed the first cohesive Chinese empire, setting China on a trajectory of state building and aggressive activity that continues to this day. In Ancient Chinese Warfare, a preeminent expert on Chinese military history uses recently recovered documents and archaeological findings to construct a comprehensive guide to the developing technologies, strategies, and logistics of ancient Chinese militarism. The result is a definitive look at the tools and methods that won wars and shaped culture in ancient China.
Author: Gordon G. Chang Publisher: Random House ISBN: 1588360210 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 368
Book Description
China is hot. The world sees a glorious future for this sleeping giant, three times larger than the United States, predicting it will blossom into the world's biggest economy by 2010. According to Chang, however, a Chinese-American lawyer and China specialist, the People's Republic is a paper dragon. Peer beneath the veneer of modernization since Mao's death, and the symptoms of decay are everywhere: Deflation grips the economy, state-owned enterprises are failing, banks are hopelessly insolvent, foreign investment continues to decline, and Communist party corruption eats away at the fabric of society. Beijing's cautious reforms have left the country stuck midway between communism and capitalism, Chang writes. With its impending World Trade Organization membership, for the first time China will be forced to open itself to foreign competition, which will shake the country to its foundations. Economic failure will be followed by government collapse. Covering subjects from party politics to the Falun Gong to the government's insupportable position on Taiwan, Chang presents a thorough and very chilling overview of China's present and not-so-distant future.
Author: Martin Jacques Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 1101151455 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 631
Book Description
Greatly revised and expanded, with a new afterword, this update to Martin Jacques’s global bestseller is an essential guide to understanding a world increasingly shaped by Chinese power Soon, China will rule the world. But in doing so, it will not become more Western. Since the first publication of When China Rules the World, the landscape of world power has shifted dramatically. In the three years since the first edition was published, When China Rules the World has proved to be a remarkably prescient book, transforming the nature of the debate on China. Now, in this greatly expanded and fully updated edition, boasting nearly 300 pages of new material, and backed up by the latest statistical data, Martin Jacques renews his assault on conventional thinking about China’s ascendancy, showing how its impact will be as much political and cultural as economic, changing the world as we know it. First published in 2009 to widespread critical acclaim - and controversy - When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order has sold a quarter of a million copies, been translated into eleven languages, nominated for two major literary awards, and is the subject of an immensely popular TED talk.
Author: Harold Miles Tanner Publisher: Hackett Publishing ISBN: 0872209156 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 626
Book Description
A deep and rigorous, yet eminently accessible introduction to the political, social, and cultural development of imperial Chinese civilisation, this volume develops a number of important themes -- such as the ethnic diversity of the early empires -- that other editions omit entirely or discuss only minimally. Includes a general introduction, chronology, bibliography, illustrations, maps, and an index.
Author: Ung Bing Li Publisher: ISBN: Category : China Languages : en Pages : 724
Book Description
The present book was written for two classes of Chinese. To those who are studying English, it is not so much an attempt to teach Chinese history by English as English through the medium of Chinese history. Certainly it will prove doubly interesting to read the facts of the history of one's own country in a foreign tongue which he is making an effort to learn. To those to whom Chinese history must otherwise remain unknown, it is hoped that the "Outlines" may induce them to seek further knowledge from the original sources. The recent events which are introducing a new epoch in China make a study of our ancient institutions doubly necessary. -- Preface.
Author: Mark Elvin
Author: Mark Elvin
Author: Mark Elvin
Author: John Thomas Meskill
Author: Charles Desnoyers
Author: Mark Elvin
Author: Ralph D. Sawyer
Author: Gordon G. Chang
Author: Martin Jacques
Author: Harold Miles Tanner
Author: Ung Bing Li