China’s Imperial Dynasties: 1600 BC- AD 1912 by Jonathan Fenby (PDF)

Description

From the 17th century BC – when the Shang rulers of the eastern valley of the Yellow River assumed power in the cradle of Chinese civilization – until 1911, when imperial China collapsed in revolutionary chaos, the country was ruled by a succession of powerful dynasties. In China’s Imperial Dynasties: 1600 BC – AD 1912, Jonathan Fenby tells their rich, complex and often turbulent story. China’s imperial dynasties display a recurring pattern of birth, growth, prosperity and collapse due to external pressures. A number of powerful emperors left a particularly strong imprint on China’s troubled history, whether as conquerors, consolidators, tyrants, reformers or reactionaries. At the heart of Jonathan Fenby’s fascinating and informative narrative are vivid profiles of such emperors as the Qin emperor Shi Huangdi, who began the construction of the Great Wall;Wudi, the Han emperor who developed China as a centralized Confucian state; Kublai Khan, the first emperor of the Mongol Yuan dynasty; the Ming emperor Yongle, a brilliant general who raised his dynasty to its military peak; and the dowager empress Cixi, who rose from humble origins as the daughter of an ordinary Manchu family to rule over all China. Interweaved among these stories of the rise and fall of emperors and dynasties are special features exploring key themes in Chinese history: from Buddhism to the Boxer Rising, from Confucianism to concubines, from the civilservice to the Silk Road, from funerary customs to the Forbidden City, from gunpowder to the Great Wall, and from porcelain to printing. Biography Jonathan Fenby is a former editor of The Observer newspaper. He is the author of books and articles on both Europe and Asia. His survey of contemporary France, On The Brink, was universally hailed by the critics. His latest book is Alliance: The Inside Story of How Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill Won One War and Began Another (2007).

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐If you knnow nothing or almost nothing on Chinese History, this is the book for you. This book does a superb job of introducing you to Chinese History, its Dynasties, and the major people involved. It breaks up the histoy in Dynasties (as it should for people new to Chinese History), which puts everything in very good context. It is also very easy to read and follow. BE WARNED, if you are looking for a book that will go into great detail and facts on Chinese History, this is not the book for you. However, if you are looking for a book that will introduce you to Chinese History in a easy to understand and basic manner, this is the book for you. If you are new to Chinese History I STRONGLY recommend you get this book first to give you context, afterwards you can get books that go more in detail on certain periods of Chinese History that you might have found of particular interest to you. Hope this helps.

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