The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-220 CE

Download The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-220 CE PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 131553231X
Total Pages : 183 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (155 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-220 CE by : Wicky W. K. Tse

Download or read book The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-220 CE written by Wicky W. K. Tse and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-06-27 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Later Han period the region covering the modern provinces of Gansu, southern Ningxia, eastern Qinghai, northern Sichuan, and western Shaanxi, was a porous frontier zone between the Chinese regimes and their Central Asian neighbours, not fully incorporated into the Chinese realm until the first century BCE. Not surprisingly the region had a large concentration of men of martial background, from which a regional culture characterized by warrior spirit and skills prevailed. This military elite was generally honoured by the imperial centre, but during the Later Han period the ascendancy of eastern-based scholar-officials and the consequent increased emphasis on civil values and de-militarization fundamentally transformed the attitude of the imperial state towards the northwestern frontiersmen, leaving them struggling to achieve high political and social status. From the ensuing tensions and resentment followed the capture of the imperial capital by a northwestern military force, the deposing of the emperor and the installation of a new one, which triggered the disintegration of the empire. Based on extensive original research, and combining cultural, military and political history, this book examines fully the forging of military regional identity in the northwest borderlands and the consequences of this for the early Chinese empires.

The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-200 CE

Download The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-200 CE PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781315532332
Total Pages : 168 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (323 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-200 CE by : Wicky W. K. Tse

Download or read book The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-200 CE written by Wicky W. K. Tse and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Later Han period the region covering the modern provinces of Gansu, southern Ningxia, eastern Qinghai, northern Sichuan, and western Shaanxi, was a porous frontier zone between the Chinese regimes and their Central Asian neighbours, not fully incorporated into the Chinese realm until the first century BCE. Not surprisingly the region had a large concentration of men of martial background, from which a regional culture characterized by warrior spirit and skills prevailed. This military elite was generally honoured by the imperial centre, but during the Later Han period the ascendancy of eastern-based scholar-officials and the consequent increased emphasis on civil values and de-militarization fundamentally transformed the attitude of the imperial state towards the northwestern frontiersmen, leaving them struggling to achieve high political and social status. From the ensuing tensions and resentment followed the capture of the imperial capital by a northwestern military force, the deposing of the emperor and the installation of a new one, which triggered the disintegration of the empire. Based on extensive original research, and combining cultural, military and political history, this book examines fully the forging of military regional identity in the northwest borderlands and the consequences of this for the early Chinese empires.

The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-200 CE

Download The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-200 CE PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781138692398
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (923 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-200 CE by : Wicky W. K. Tse

Download or read book The Collapse of China's Later Han Dynasty, 25-200 CE written by Wicky W. K. Tse and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Later Han period the region covering the modern provinces of Gansu, southern Ningxia, eastern Qinghai, northern Sichuan, and western Shaanxi, was a porous frontier zone between the Chinese regimes and their Central Asian neighbours, not fully incorporated into the Chinese realm until the first century BCE. Not surprisingly the region had a large concentration of men of martial background, from which a regional culture characterized by warrior spirit and skills prevailed. This military elite was generally honoured by the imperial centre, but during the Later Han period the ascendancy of eastern-based scholar-officials and the consequent increased emphasis on civil values and de-militarization fundamentally transformed the attitude of the imperial state towards the northwestern frontiersmen, leaving them struggling to achieve high political and social status. From the ensuing tensions and resentment followed the capture of the imperial capital by a northwestern military force, the deposing of the emperor and the installation of a new one, which triggered the disintegration of the empire. Based on extensive original research, and combining cultural, military and political history, this book examines fully the forging of military regional identity in the northwest borderlands and the consequences of this for the early Chinese empires.¿

Fire over Luoyang

Download Fire over Luoyang PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004325204
Total Pages : 591 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (43 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fire over Luoyang by : Rafe de Crespigny

Download or read book Fire over Luoyang written by Rafe de Crespigny and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-10-18 with total page 591 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rafe de Crespigny provides the first account in a Western language of one of the great dynasties of China, which dominated east Asia but collapsed in dramatic fashion at the end of the second century AD.

The Han Dynasty

Download The Han Dynasty PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781717540553
Total Pages : 86 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (45 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Han Dynasty by : Charles River Charles River Editors

Download or read book The Han Dynasty written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-04-29 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Even before the first Chinese dynasty, complex societies inhabiting the area now known as China organized into settlements, and the most important settlements were protected by rammed earth walls. The first dynasty, the Shang (1600-1050 BCE), built large walls as early as around 1,550 BCE. Differing from later walls, which were built along a strategic defense line, these walls were built to enclose the settlements and areas. The Shang would eventually be conquered from the west by the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE), which developed a complex system of government. In fact, it was the Zhou system's decline that Confucius (551-479 BCE) witnessed and drew from greatly for his political philosophy. The Zhou also created walled cities, and it was at this time that the first major conflicts with northern tribesman, the Xianyun, were recorded As the newly independent states vied for supremacy in a state of constant warfare, northern barbarians were also a constant menace. Eventually, the Chinese succeeded in eliminating many of those on their immediate northern border, but it was a bittersweet victory because it meant there was no longer a buffer between China and the even fiercer Mongols further north. This new proximity led to increased cultural exchange, as well as the Chinese adoption of nomadic fighting techniques. Ultimately, it was the wall of the state of Qi that was the first to earn the name great (literally: long) wall, because the state of Qin proved most adept at the new warfare and conquered all the others. It was this dynasty that unified the kingdoms under the name of China, but put simply, the Qin were a war machine. They defeated the Mongols north of the border and expanded their control there, while also fighting expansionary wars in all directions. The first Qin emperor died 11 years into his reign and was buried with the famous Terracotta warriors: These soldiers and equipment, all carved out of stone and other materials, formed an imperial army that would accompany the emperor into the afterlife. After the emperor's death, rebellion and strife took hold of the empire, and soon a new dynasty, the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), was founded. The previous emperor, Meng Tian, was forced to commit suicide, and the Han dynasty became known for maintaining a long period of wealth and prosperity during which Confucianism and other major intellectual trends in China flowered. However, they had trouble with the nomads in the north too, and after suffering decisive military defeats, the Han decided that only through a policy of peace and reconciliation could they manage relations with the Xiongnu. They offered material goods and marriages, and the border was secured, but walls were also still obviously necessary. Ultimately, the massive investment in military expansion and conquest reaped great rewards for the Han, but all came at a very dear cost to the empire. As a result of their growing militarism, the trend of using diplomacy slowly fell out of favor around the start of the 1st century CE, but even when the old structure of peace and diplomacy with the northerners was reinstated, the Xiongnu were asked to submit to a nominally inferior position in their relationship with China. It appeared to be a compromise that would benefit both sides, but soon afterward, a Han regent usurped power and the kingdom fell into civil war. The dynasty recovered at the time, but never fully, and it continued on the path of steady decline. The Han Dynasty: The History and Legacy of Ancient China's Most Influential Empire examines how the Han dynasty took control of China and the impact of their reign over several centuries.

Chang'an 26 BCE

Download Chang'an 26 BCE PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Washington Press
ISBN 13 : 0295806419
Total Pages : 656 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (958 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Chang'an 26 BCE by : Michael Nylan

Download or read book Chang'an 26 BCE written by Michael Nylan and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2015-05-21 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the last two centuries BCE, the Western Han capital of Chang'an, near today's Xi'an in northwest China, outshone Augustan Rome in several ways while administering comparable numbers of imperial subjects and equally vast territories. At its grandest, during the last fifty years or so before the collapse of the dynasty in 9 CE, Chang�an boasted imperial libraries with thousands of documents on bamboo and silk in a city nearly three times the size of Rome and nearly four times larger than Alexandria. Many reforms instituted in this capital in ate Western Han substantially shaped not only the institutions of the Eastern Han (25�220 CE) but also the rest of imperial China until 1911. Although thousands of studies document imperial Rome�s glory, until now no book-length work in a Western language has been devoted to Han Chang�an, the reign of Emperor Chengdi (whose accomplishments rival those of Augustus and Hadrian), or the city's impressive library project (26-6 BCE), which ultimately produced the first state-sponsored versions of many of the classics and masterworks that we hold in our hands today. Chang�an 26 BCE addresses this deficiency, using as a focal point the reign of Emperor Chengdi (r. 33�7 bce), specifically the year in which the imperial library project began. This in-depth survey by some of the world�s best scholars, Chinese and Western, explores the built environment, sociopolitical transformations, and leading figures of Chang�an, making a strong case for the revision of historical assumptions about the two Han dynasties. A multidisciplinary volume representing a wealth of scholarly perspectives, the book draws on the established historical record and recent archaeological discoveries of thousands of tombs, building foundations, and remnants of walls and gates from Chang�an and its surrounding area.

China Between Empires

Download China Between Empires PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674060350
Total Pages : 351 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis China Between Empires by : Mark Edward Lewis

Download or read book China Between Empires written by Mark Edward Lewis and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-30 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the collapse of the Han dynasty in the third century CE, China divided along a north-south line. Mark Lewis traces the changes that both underlay and resulted from this split in a period that saw the geographic redefinition of China, more engagement with the outside world, significant changes to family life, developments in the literary and social arenas, and the introduction of new religions. The Yangzi River valley arose as the rice-producing center of the country. Literature moved beyond the court and capital to depict local culture, and newly emerging social spaces included the garden, temple, salon, and country villa. The growth of self-defined genteel families expanded the notion of the elite, moving it away from the traditional great Han families identified mostly by material wealth. Trailing the rebel movements that toppled the Han, the new faiths of Daoism and Buddhism altered every aspect of life, including the state, kinship structures, and the economy. By the time China was reunited by the Sui dynasty in 589 ce, the elite had been drawn into the state order, and imperial power had assumed a more transcendent nature. The Chinese were incorporated into a new world system in which they exchanged goods and ideas with states that shared a common Buddhist religion. The centuries between the Han and the Tang thus had a profound and permanent impact on the Chinese world.

The Imperial Network in Ancient China

Download The Imperial Network in Ancient China PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000474836
Total Pages : 316 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Imperial Network in Ancient China by : Maxim Korolkov

Download or read book The Imperial Network in Ancient China written by Maxim Korolkov and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-18 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the emergence of imperial state in East Asia during the period ca. 400 BCE–200 CE as a network-based process, showing how the geography of early interregional contacts south of the Yangzi River informed the directions of Sinitic state expansion. Drawing from an extensive collection of sources including transmitted textual records, archaeological evidence, excavated legal manuscripts, and archival documents from Liye, this book demonstrates the breadth of human and material resources available to the empire builders of an early imperial network throughout southern East Asia – from institutions and infrastructures, to the relationships that facilitated circulation. This network is shown to have been essential to the consolidation of Sinitic imperial rule in the sub-tropical zone south of the Yangzi against formidable environmental, epidemiological, and logistical odds. This is also the first study to explore how the interplay between an imperial network and alternative frameworks of long-distance interaction in ancient East Asia shaped the political-economic trajectory of the Sinitic world and its involvement in Eurasian globalization. Contributing to debates around imperial state formation, the applicability of world-system models and the comparative study of empires, The Imperial Network in Ancient China will be of significant interest to students and scholars of East Asian studies, archaeology and history.

The Limits of Universal Rule

Download The Limits of Universal Rule PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108808743
Total Pages : 413 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (88 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Limits of Universal Rule by : Yuri Pines

Download or read book The Limits of Universal Rule written by Yuri Pines and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-21 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All major continental empires proclaimed their desire to rule 'the entire world', investing considerable human and material resources in expanding their territory. Each, however, eventually had to stop expansion and come to terms with a shift to defensive strategy. This volume explores the factors that facilitated Eurasian empires' expansion and contraction: from ideology to ecology, economic and military considerations to changing composition of the imperial elites. Built around a common set of questions, a team of leading specialists systematically compare a broad set of Eurasian empires - from Achaemenid Iran, the Romans, Qin and Han China, via the Caliphate, the Byzantines and the Mongols to the Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals, Russians, and Ming and Qing China. The result is a state-of-the art analysis of the major imperial enterprises in Eurasian history from antiquity to the early modern that discerns both commonalities and differences in the empires' spatial trajectories.

The History of the Former Han Dynasty

Download The History of the Former Han Dynasty PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 563 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (626 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The History of the Former Han Dynasty by : Ku Pan

Download or read book The History of the Former Han Dynasty written by Ku Pan and published by . This book was released on 1955 with total page 563 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Memory and Agency in Ancient China

Download Memory and Agency in Ancient China PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108586414
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (85 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Memory and Agency in Ancient China by : Francis Allard

Download or read book Memory and Agency in Ancient China written by Francis Allard and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-12-20 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Memory and Agency in Ancient China offers a novel perspective on China's material culture. The volume explores the complex 'life histories' of selected objects, whose trajectories as ginle objects ('biographies') and object types ('lineages') cut across both temporal and physical space. The essays, written by a team of international scholars, analyse the objects in an effort to understand how they were shaped by the constraints of their social, political and aesthetic contexts, just as they were also guided by individual preference and capricious memory. They also demonstrate how objects were capable of effecting change. Ranging chronologically from the Neolithic to the present, and spatially from northern to southern mainland China and Taiwan, this book highlights the varied approaches that archaeologists and art historians use when attempting to reconstruct object trajectories. It also showcases the challenges they face, particularly with the unearthing of objects from archaeological contexts that, paradoxically, come to represent the earliest known point of their 'post-recovery lives'.

Modernization and Revolution in China

Download Modernization and Revolution in China PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1003855822
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (38 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Modernization and Revolution in China by : June Grasso

Download or read book Modernization and Revolution in China written by June Grasso and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-03-14 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extensively revised and fully updated in this sixth edition, this popular textbook conveys the drama of China’s struggle to modernize against the backdrop of a proud and difficult history. Featuring a new analysis of the issues facing China’s fifth generation of leaders, it explores prominent developments including China’s relations with its neighbors and the United States, the humanitarian crises in Tibet and Xinjiang, and the progression of Xi Jinping. Incorporating new analytical summaries in each chapter and updated suggested readings, this new edition covers: The breakdown of imperial China in the face of Japanese and Western encroachments The struggles between the ideologies and armies of Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution Deng Xiaoping’s reforms and the resulting dismantling of socialism and economic growth • China’s position as a world superpower and Xi Jinping’s leadership The Covid-19 pandemic Spanning the years from China’s defeat in the Opium Wars to its current status as a world superpower, the sixth edition of Modernization and Revolution in China is an essential textbook for courses on modern Chinese history, Chinese politics, and modern East Asia.

Asia in Western and World History

Download Asia in Western and World History PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : M.E. Sharpe
ISBN 13 : 9781563242656
Total Pages : 1048 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (426 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Asia in Western and World History by : Ainslie Thomas Embree

Download or read book Asia in Western and World History written by Ainslie Thomas Embree and published by M.E. Sharpe. This book was released on 1997 with total page 1048 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive volume provides teachers and students with broad and stimulating perspectives on Asian history and its place in world and Western history. Essays by over forty leading scholars suggest many new ways of incorporating Asian history, from ancient to modern times, into core curriculum history courses. Now featuring "Suggested Resources for Maps to Be Used in Conjunction with Asia in Western and World History".

Interpreting China's Grand Strategy

Download Interpreting China's Grand Strategy PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rand Corporation
ISBN 13 : 0833048309
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (33 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Interpreting China's Grand Strategy by : Michael D. Swaine

Download or read book Interpreting China's Grand Strategy written by Michael D. Swaine and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2000-03-22 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China's continuing rapid economic growth and expanding involvement in global affairs pose major implications for the power structure of the international system. To more accurately and fully assess the significance of China's emergence for the United States and the global community, it is necessary to gain a more complete understanding of Chinese security thought and behavior. This study addresses such questions as: What are China's most fundamental national security objectives? How has the Chinese state employed force and diplomacy in the pursuit of these objectives over the centuries? What security strategy does China pursue today and how will it evolve in the future? The study asserts that Chinese history, the behavior of earlier rising powers, and the basic structure and logic of international power relations all suggest that, although a strong China will likely become more assertive globally, this possibility is unlikely to emerge before 2015-2020 at the earliest. To handle this situation, the study argues that the United States should adopt a policy of realistic engagement with China that combines efforts to pursue cooperation whenever possible; to prevent, if necessary, the acquisition by China of capabilities that would threaten America's core national security interests; and to remain prepared to cope with the consequences of a more assertive China.

Time and Language

Download Time and Language PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824894588
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Time and Language by : Ori Sela

Download or read book Time and Language written by Ori Sela and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2023-03-31 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China’s past and present have been in a continuous dialogue throughout history, one that is heavily influenced by time and language: the temporal orientation and the linguistic apparatus used to express and solidify identity, ideas, and practices. Presenting a host of in-depth case studies, Time and Language: New Sinology and Chinese History argues for and demonstrates the significance of “New Sinology” by restoring the role of language/philology in the research and understanding of how modern China emerged. Reading the modern as a careful and ongoing conversation with the past renders the “new” in a different perspective. This volume is a significant step toward a new historical narrative of China’s modern history, one wherein “ruptures” can exist in tandem with continuities. The collection accentuates the deep connection between language and power—one that spans well across China’s long past—and hence the immense consequences of linguistic-related methodology to the comprehension of power structures and identity in China. Each of the essays in this volume tackles these issues, the methodological and the thematic, from a different angle but they all share the Sinological prism of analysis and the basic understanding that a much longer timeframe is required to make sense of Chinese modernity. The languages examined are diverse, including modern and classical Chinese, as well as Manchu and Japanese. Taken together they bring a spectrum of linguistic perspectives and hence a spectrum of power relations and identities to the forefront. While the essays focus on late Qing and early twentieth-century eras, they refer often to earlier periods, which are necessary to making real sense of later eras. The methodological and the thematic do not only converge, but also generate a plea for fostering and expanding this approach in current and future studies.

Early Medieval China

Download Early Medieval China PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231531001
Total Pages : 745 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Early Medieval China by : Wendy Swartz

Download or read book Early Medieval China written by Wendy Swartz and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-11 with total page 745 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This innovative sourcebook builds a dynamic understanding of China's early medieval period (220–589) through an original selection and arrangement of literary, historical, religious, and critical texts. A tumultuous and formative era, these centuries saw the longest stretch of political fragmentation in China's imperial history, resulting in new ethnic configurations, the rise of powerful clans, and a pervasive divide between north and south. Deploying thematic categories, the editors sketch the period in a novel way for students and, by featuring many texts translated into English for the first time, recast the era for specialists. Thematic topics include regional definitions and tensions, governing mechanisms and social reality, ideas of self and other, relations with the unseen world, everyday life, and cultural concepts. Within each section, the editors and translators introduce the selected texts and provide critical commentary on their historical significance, along with suggestions for further reading and research.

Foundations of Chinese Civilization

Download Foundations of Chinese Civilization PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Stone Bridge Press
ISBN 13 : 1611729181
Total Pages : 168 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (117 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Foundations of Chinese Civilization by : Jing Liu

Download or read book Foundations of Chinese Civilization written by Jing Liu and published by Stone Bridge Press. This book was released on 2016-05-09 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who founded China? Are Chinese people religious? What is Chinese culture and how has it changed over time? The accessible and fun Understanding China Through Comics series answers those questions and more. For all ages, Foundations of Chinese Civilization covers China's early history in comic form, introducing philosophies like Confucianism and Daoism, the story of the Silk Road, famous emperors like Han Wudi, and the process of China's unification. Includes a handy timeline. This is volume one of the Understanding China Through Comics series. Jing Liu is a Beijing native now living in Davis, California. A successful designer and entrepreneur who helped brands tell their stories, Jing currently uses his artistry to tell the story of China.