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Author : Andrew R. Wilson
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781629974651
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (746 download)
Download or read book Understanding Imperial China written by Andrew R. Wilson and published by . This book was released on 2017-08-18 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Understanding Imperial China written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A knowledge of China's majestic empire is essential for any understanding of its present. Discover what daily life was like for government bureaucrats, scholars, women of the court, soldiers, merchants, craftspeople, emperors, concubines, poets, farmers, and many others - all set against the backdrop of the richness, the diversity, the genius, and the splendor of imperial China.
Author : Joseph P. McDermott
Publisher : Hong Kong University Press
ISBN 13 : 9622097812
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (22 download)
Download or read book A Social History of the Chinese Book written by Joseph P. McDermott and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2006-04-01 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this learned, yet readable, book, Joseph McDermott introduces the history of the book in China in the late imperial period from 1000 to 1800. He assumes little knowledge of Chinese history or culture and compares the Chinese experience with books with that of other civilizations, particularly the European. Yet he deals with a wide range of issues in the history of the book in China and presents novel analyses of the changes in Chinese woodblock bookmaking over these centuries. He presents a new view of when the printed book replaced the manuscript and what drove that substitution. He explores the distribution and marketing structure of books, and writes fascinatingly on the history of book collecting and about access to private and government book collections. In drawing on a great deal of Chinese, Japanese, and Western research this book provides a broad account of the way Chinese books were printed, distributed, and consumed by literati and scholars, mainly in the lower Yangzi delta, the cultural center of China during these centuries. It introduces interesting personalities, ranging from wily book collectors to an indigent shoe-repairman collector. And, it discusses the obstacles to the formation of a truly national printed culture for both the well-educated and the struggling reader in recent times. This broad and comprehensive account of the development of printed Chinese culture from 1000 to 1800 is written for anyone interested in the history of the book. It also offers important new insights into book culture and its place in society for the student of Chinese history and culture. 'A brilliant piece of synthetic research as well as a delightful read, it offers a history of the Chinese book to the eighteenth century that is without equal.' - Timothy Brook, University of British Columbia 'Writers, scribes, engravers, printers, binders, publishers, distributors, dealers, literati, scholars, librarians, collectors, voracious readers — the full gamut of a vibrant book culture in China over one thousand years — are examined with eloquence and perception by Joseph McDermott in The Social History of the Book. His lively exploration will be of consuming interest to bibliophiles of every persuasion.' - Nicholas A. Basbanes, author of A Gentle Madness, Patience and Fortitude, A Splendor of Letters, and Every Book Its Reader Joseph McDermott is presently Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and University Lecturer in Chinese at Cambridge University. He has published widely on Chinese social and economic history, most recently on the economy of the Song (or, Sung) dynasty for the Cambridge History of China. He has edited State and Court Ritual in China and Art and Power in East Asia.
Author : Michael Loewe
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000508471
Total Pages : 331 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)
Download or read book Imperial China written by Michael Loewe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-30 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1966, Imperial China sets out to explain China’s past histories to non-specialists. Too often the West has misunderstood the East. China is credited with an excessively long cultural history; with a continuous line of dynastic succession; with uniformly practised institutions; or with intellectual stagnation. Michael Loewe sets out here to dispel some of these misconceptions, and to mark the stages in the evolution of China’s political forms, social organizations and economic progress that can be traced from the days of the first empire (from 221 B.C.) until the dynamic changes of the nineteenth century. He believes that a full understanding of modern China depends on a more than perfunctory glance at her past and has tried to provide the general historical context. The author is well aware that, thanks to the research of the last fifty years, it is now possible and indeed requisite to reach a deeper understanding of China's past. This book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of Chinese history, Asian history, history in general.
Download or read book Understanding Imperial China written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Track the historical significance and changing fortunes of the Grand Canal. Beginning in the Sui Dynasty, explore the evolution and engineering of the canal system and its vital role in imperial economics, politics, and culture. Learn about its maintenance and management, its varied personnel, and how the health of the canal directly mirrored the political health of the empire.
Author : Eileen Tamura
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 9780824819231
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (192 download)
Download or read book China written by Eileen Tamura and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China: Understanding Its Past aims to fill a conspicuous gap in conventional world history texts, which are often Eurocentric and give scant attention to Asia. Using role-playing, simulations, debates, primary documents, first person accounts, excerpts from literary works, and cooperative learning activities, this text will help students explore many key aspects of China's history and culture. The teacher's manual includes a synopsis of each chapter and section, learner outcomes, definitions of key concepts, directions for student activities, and possible responses to questions posed in the student text. The CD contains selections of Chinese music from different time periods and locales. Liner notes include English translations of lyrics as well as historical information about each selection.
Author : Yuhua Wang
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691237514
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)
Download or read book The Rise and Fall of Imperial China written by Yuhua Wang and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-11 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How social networks shaped the imperial Chinese state China was the world’s leading superpower for almost two millennia, falling behind only in the last two centuries and now rising to dominance again. What factors led to imperial China’s decline? The Rise and Fall of Imperial China offers a systematic look at the Chinese state from the seventh century through to the twentieth. Focusing on how short-lived emperors often ruled a strong state while long-lasting emperors governed a weak one, Yuhua Wang shows why lessons from China’s history can help us better understand state building. Wang argues that Chinese rulers faced a fundamental trade-off that he calls the sovereign’s dilemma: a coherent elite that could collectively strengthen the state could also overthrow the ruler. This dilemma emerged because strengthening state capacity and keeping rulers in power for longer required different social networks in which central elites were embedded. Wang examines how these social networks shaped the Chinese state, and vice versa, and he looks at how the ruler’s pursuit of power by fragmenting the elites became the final culprit for China’s fall. Drawing on more than a thousand years of Chinese history, The Rise and Fall of Imperial China highlights the role of elite social relations in influencing the trajectories of state development.
Author : Charles Sanft
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 1438450370
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)
Download or read book Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China written by Charles Sanft and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2014-02-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges traditional views of the Qin dynasty as an oppressive regime by revealing cooperative aspects of its governance. This revealing book challenges longstanding notions of the Qin dynasty, Chinas first imperial dynasty (221206 BCE). The received history of the Qin dynasty and its founder is one of cruel tyranny with rule through fear and coercion. Using a wealth of new information afforded by the expansion of Chinese archaeology in recent decades as well as traditional historical sources, Charles Sanft concentrates on cooperative aspects of early imperial government, especially on the communication necessary for government. Sanft suggests that the Qin authorities sought cooperation from the populace with a publicity campaign in a wide variety of mediafrom bronze and stone inscriptions to roads to the bureaucracy. The book integrates theory from anthropology and economics with early Chinese philosophy and argues that modern social science and ancient thought agree that cooperation is necessary for all human societies.
Download or read book Understanding Imperial China written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enter the lives of the Han nobility - China's second imperial dynasty - through their tombs, whose fabulous artifacts bear witness to their lavish lifestyle, diet, and concern for learning. Take account of the Han golden age, during which essential imperial institutions were established and Han territories were expanded. Also take note of the rise of a new and powerful scholarly elite.
Author : Emily Mokros
Publisher : University of Washington Press
ISBN 13 : 029574880X
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (957 download)
Download or read book The Peking Gazette in Late Imperial China written by Emily Mokros and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), China experienced far greater access to political information than suggested by the blunt measures of control and censorship employed by modern Chinese regimes. A tenuous partnership between the court and the dynamic commercial publishing enterprises of late imperial China enabled the publication of gazettes in a wide range of print and manuscript formats. For both domestic and foreign readers these official gazettes offered vital information about the Qing state and its activities, transmitting state news across a vast empire and beyond. And the most essential window onto Qing politics was the Peking Gazette, a genre that circulated globally over the course of the dynasty. This illuminating study presents a comprehensive history of the Peking Gazette and frames it as the cornerstone of a Qing information policy that, paradoxically, prized both transparency and secrecy. Gazettes gave readers a glimpse into the state’s inner workings but also served as a carefully curated form of public relations. Historian Emily Mokros draws from international archives to reconstruct who read the gazette and how they used it to guide their interactions with the Chinese state. Her research into the Peking Gazette’s evolution over more than two centuries is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the relationship between media, information, and state power.
Author : Nicola Di Cosmo
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674262999
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (742 download)
Download or read book Military Culture in Imperial China written by Nicola Di Cosmo and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011-03-04 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the relationship between culture and the military in Chinese society from early China to the Qing empire, with contributions by eminent scholars aiming to reexamine the relationship between military matters and law, government, historiography, art, philosophy, literature, and politics. The book critically investigates the perception that, due to the influence of Confucianism, Chinese culture has systematically devalued military matters. There was nothing inherently pacifist about the Chinese governments’ views of war, and pragmatic approaches—even aggressive and expansionist projects—often prevailed. Though it has changed in form, a military elite has existed in China from the beginning of its history, and military service included a large proportion of the population at any given time. Popular literature praised the martial ethos of fighting men. Civil officials attended constantly to military matters on the administrative and financial ends. The seven military classics produced in antiquity continued to be read even into the modern period. These original essays explore the ways in which intellectual, civilian, and literary elements helped shape the nature of military institutions, theory, and the culture of war. This important contribution bridges two literatures, military and cultural, that seldom appear together in the study of China, and deepens our understanding of war and society in Chinese history.
Download or read book Understanding Imperial China written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lecture reveals life in the Song Dynasty by means of the Qingming Shanghetu, a renowned painted scroll of the early 12th century. Reading the 17-foot scroll sequentially, travel through its vivid imagery of people, animals, buildings, vehicles, and landscapes, as it depicts scenes of daily life and conveys the remarkable technological, cultural, and economic sophistication of the Song.
Download or read book Understanding Imperial China written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For centuries, the imperial civil service exams selected candidates for important government positions. Trace the dramatic history of the examinations, which involved years of intensive study, a grueling testing ordeal, and life-changing benefits for the successful. Take account of the profound social and cultural significance of the exams and their role in the administration of the empire.
Author : Mark Edward Lewis
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674060350
Total Pages : 351 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)
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.
Download or read book Understanding Imperial China written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Song Dynasty, classical literacy and the civil service examinations were the path to official position. Here, trace the lives of two celebrated literati who emerged from this system. First meet Su Shi, passionate public servant, fun-loving style setter, and man of letters. Contrast Su's life with that of Zhu Xi, probing moral philosopher and architect of Neo-Confucianism.
Download or read book Understanding Imperial China written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Begin by examining a pervasive symbol of late imperial China: opium. Learn about the history of opium use, the ritual of opium smoking, and the luxurious opium culture of the Chinese elite. Note how opium became inextricably linked with imperial culture, society, and economics. Chart the role of the British opium trade, the Opium Wars, and Chinese measures to eradicate the drug.
Author : Benjamin A. Elman
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674726936
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (747 download)
Download or read book Civil Examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China written by Benjamin A. Elman and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During China's late imperial period (roughly 1400-1900 CE), men would gather by the millions every two or three years outside official examination compounds sprinkled across China. Only one percent of candidates would complete the academic regimen that would earn them a post in the administrative bureaucracy. Civil Examinations assesses the role of education, examination, and China's civil service in fostering the world's first professional class based on demonstrated knowledge and skill. While millions of men dreamed of the worldly advancement an imperial education promised, many more wondered what went on inside the prestigious walled-off examination compounds. As Benjamin A. Elman reveals, what occurred was the weaving of a complex social web. Civil examinations had been instituted in China as early as the seventh century CE, but in the Ming and Qing eras they were the nexus linking the intellectual, political, and economic life of imperial China. Local elites and members of the court sought to influence how the government regulated the classical curriculum and selected civil officials. As a guarantor of educational merit, civil examinations served to tie the dynasty to the privileged gentry and literati classes--both ideologically and institutionally. China did away with its classical examination system in 1905. But this carefully balanced and constantly contested piece of social engineering, worked out over the course of centuries, was an early harbinger of the meritocratic regime of college boards and other entrance exams that undergirds higher education in much of the world today.
