China's Buried Kingdoms

by Denise Dersin, Charles J. Hagner, Dale Brown

Offers a history of China from 1700 B.C. to A.D. 200 covering the major dynasties during that period, the findings from each dynasty, and the experiences encountered by archaeologists during digs

Genres: History, Nonfiction, China

168 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1993

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ya just can't beat a Time-Life book for an entertaining and interesting read. The tons of great pictures and the overall layout of the information make reading one of these books a joy in learning. Recommended

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Time-Life Books’ account of the rediscovery of China’s early civilisation in its Lost Civilizations series. As with all their other books in the series it is highly informative, beautifully illustrated and very readable. Though in comparison with Iraq, Egypt and India, China came late to civilisation, this book shows how it not only soon caught up with but rapidly overtook the civilisations to its west. I was amazed to learn how far back China’s written records go and also how culturally and technologically sophisticated China became during the Han dynasty, at least a millennium before the West. All credit must be given to the People’s Republic for investing in extensive archaeological excavation and research to uncover and conserve China’s heritage. My only reservation about the book would be that, with so many textual references to the excavation of wonderful art, artefacts, textiles and buildings, I would have liked to have seen far more illustrations of the discoveries than it was possible for the book to include.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent number of illustrations of adequate quality, the text skips around various historical periods of China to highlight recent archeological finds. An interesting read, but no longer a keeper.

[Marcos “MSMDragon” · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading more about the terra-cotta army. They are very fascinating.