China: A History
£12.60£14.20 (-11%)
Three thousand years of Chinese history in an accessible and authoritative single volume.
Despite the recent rise of China to a position of dominance on the world economic stage, Chinese history remains an elusive subject. Yet it is this vast narrative of appalling loss, superhuman endeavour and incredible invention that has made China the superpower it is today. From the dawn of legend to the succession of great dynasties, from Confucius to Chairman Mao and from the clamour of revolution to the lure of slick capitalism, John Keay takes the reader on a sweeping tour through Chinese history. This is a definitive and indispensable account of a country set to play a major part in our future.
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Additional information
| Publisher | 1st edition (25 Jun. 2009), HarperCollins Publishers |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 606 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 9780007221783 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0007221783 |
| Dimensions | 12.9 x 3.86 x 19.81 cm |
by Overseas Reviewer
Just what I wanted – an accessible and well written history of the middle kingdom covering the social, political and dynastic history right up to the ascent of Mao. It’s got it all; territorial expansion, dynastic struggles, the interplay between Daoism, Buddhism and Confucian values, the Mongols, evolution of technology and literature, opium wars, the Generalisimo etc, What I found particularly interesting were the recurrent themes of the `mandate of heaven’, the importance attributed to history in Chinese society and the repeated inability of `new’ empires to consolidate gains. However, with so much to cover, no one area is dealt with in great depth and those seeking more detail, about recent history in particular, might wish to look elsewhere.
I’ve read a couple of other titles by Keay and found his writing style hard work. Happily I cannot say the same for this book, which I’ve enjoyed reading immensely and learned a great deal in the process. The maps and photos within are clear and informative too. I find it hard to imagine that there are any significantly better single-volume histories of China available.
by N from Manchester UK
I bought this book to better understand the culture and thinking of Chinese people with whom I was going to be working. The author has done a great job at eloquently expressing the political and cultural past of this vast country. These elements are very well captured in the series Marco Polo on Netflix and perhaps will save you lot of time. The author summarises the last 2000 years of Chinese culture based on current western standards and this bias seems very subtly trickle through in his writing like many similar books written by outsiders,ainly western authors. The people themselves however are nothing like what you read about them in this book and does them disservice. An interesting read nevertheless.
by NotSherlock
I’m writing this review having read about half of the book; I’m not sure whether I will read much more.
Not to say this is a bad book. The author has certainly given a lot of detailed information about China’s history, and achieves his aim of giving equal weight in his narrative to more ancient eras which are (so he says) often passed quickly over in other histories. I personally hoped for more sociological details; while there certainly are interludes containing information on how life would have been during certain eras, there seemed to be more focus on tracking how power and territory was passed or wrested from one party to another. I found myself skimming over details of battles to find glimpses of life.
One thing the book does very well is self-referencing. If a notable figure is mentioned again later in the book, the author conscientiously reminds us who they were; a reader does not have to keep track of the entire cast of Chinese history, thank goodness, or even read the book from the start if one wants to pick up from a certain point.
However, like other reviewers, I found the writing style and language unnecessarily dense. The author adopts a high-handed academic tone, rather than attempting to make his history accessible or an enjoyable read. (In using the word “prolix” to describe historical records, he taught me a new word to describe the author’s own writing.) Another reason that I found myself skimming through pages, rather than wading through his writing.
The book absolutely has merit, but is perhaps better suited to someone looking for an academic reference.
by Adrian J. Smith
An appropriate title, and a very reasonable delivery on a title that presents a daunting task, essentially the chronicling of 6,000 years of history within one volume, and a readable one at that.
John Keay leaves no stone unturned, beginning with China’s creation myth, and linking this with the essential, underlying theme of “all under Heaven”, Keay chronicles the history of the history of the Middle Kingdom from the legendary 5 Emperors, to the modern China of the 21st Century.
The organization and structure is handled appropriately, with Chapters being grouped into the respective dynasties, and the sub chapters entitled under the specific cataclysms or milestones within those dynasties.
With regard to the distribution of attention and focus on particular periods of figures, a China amateur like myself has no qualification to say whether focus was applied appropriately, however no linchpins are lacking within this volume, and a great sense of the political sociological chances are felt, particularly the evolution of Chinese thought, and the periodic suppressions of Buddhism.
A book that is both recommendable to those already acquainted with studies of China, such as myself, or new comers to the field. Even those with an extensive knowledge of the subject would no doubt benefit from a very readable sweep of Chinese history, and John Keay’s excellent volume does exactly that.
by G.C.
Keay’s book was recommended to me by a number of people. In 535 pages he attempts the impossible in terms of covering China’s history as a civilisation through the start of Xi Jinping’s first administration. It’s a dense read – it’s well written, covering the complexity of history well. The current communist government is barely a footnote (ok exaggerating a bit here), but it puts things in perspective.