The Story of China
The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream
1 of 1 copy available
After a century and a half of foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution, China has once again returned to center stage as a global superpower and the world's second largest economy. But how did it become so dominant? Wood argues that in order to comprehend the great significance of China today, we must begin with its history.
The Story of China takes a fresh look at the Middle Kingdom in the light of the recent massive changes inside the country. Taking into account exciting new archeological discoveries, the book begins with China's prehistory. Wood looks at particular periods and themes that are now being reevaluated by historians. Wood explores the encounter with the West, the Opium Wars, the clashes with the British, and the extraordinarily rich debates in the late nineteenth century that pushed China along the path to modernity.
The Story of China is the indispensable book about the most intriguing and powerful country on the world stage today.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
June 28, 2022 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9798765006658
- File size: 585004 KB
- Duration: 20:18:45
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
September 21, 2020
Documentarian Wood (The Story of England) chronicles 4,000 years of Chinese history in this brisk and accessible account. Moving chronologically from China’s distant past to the events of the past century, Wood pays particular attention to the country’s long history of global encounters. Highlights include descriptions of life in a Han dynasty postal station on the Silk Road between the first century BCE and 107 CE, and an account of Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci’s attempt to “bridge civilizations” by accepting Chinese “beliefs and rituals for the veneration of the dead” in the early 17th century. Wood also details social unrest and rising foreign influence after the Opium Wars and the Taiping rebellion, and documents “mass hysteria” sparked by Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, including the destruction of family heirlooms and cultural relics by Red Guards, and the massacre of 9,000 men, women, and children by local Communist party bosses in the town of Daoxian in Hunan province. Deeply researched and energetically written, this immersive account is a worthy introduction to the vast sweep of Chinese history and culture.
-