The Cambridge Illustrated History of China

by Patricia Buckley Ebrey , Foreword by Kwang-ching Liu

• ISBN13: 9780521669917
• ISBN10: 052166991X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-05-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In an extraordinary feat of synthesis, Patricia Buckley Ebrey, a leading scholar of China, gives an engaging, full, gloriously illustrated account of over 8000 years of Chinese civilization - from prehistoric times through the rise of Confucianism, Buddhism and the imperial dynasties to the modern communist state. In addition, she explores the different factors and forces, ideas and inventions, events and leaders that have shaped the remarkable Chinese civilization we know today; including the technological advances, the population explosion, and the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. Everything appears, from the influence of leading Chinese historians, poets, novelists and dramatists to the impact of key philosophical and religious ideas, art forms, family patterns, and the Mongul, Manchu and Western intrusions.

Table of Contents

Foreword	6	(1)
Preface	7	(2)
Acknowledgements	9	(1)
1 The Origins of Chinese Civilization: Neolithic Period to the Western Zhou Dynasty	10	(28)
Animal and Human Imagery in Bronze Vessels	36	(2)
2 Philosophical Foundations: The Eastern Zhou Period	38	(22)
3 The Creation of the Bureaucratic Empire: The Qin and Han Dynasties	60	(26)
4 Buddhism, Aristocracy, and Alien Rulers: The Age of Division	86	(22)
Early Buddhist Art	106	(2)
5 A Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty	108	(28)
6 Shifting South: The Song Dynasty	136	(28)
Landscape Painting	162	(2)
7 Alien Rule: The Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties	164	(26)
Drama and the Performing Arts	186	(4)
8 The Limits of Autocracy: The Ming Dynasty	190	(30)
The Kilns at Jingdezhen	217	(3)
9 Manchus and Imperialism: The Qing Dynasty	220	(42)
Working for a Living	259	(3)
10 Taking Action: The Early Twentieth Century	262	(32)
Modern Chinese Painting	292	(2)
11 Radical Reunification: The Peoples Republic	294	(39)
Epilogue	333	(5)
Chronology	338	(1)
Picture Acknowledgements	339	(1)
Notes	340	(1)
Further Reading	341	(5)
Index	346