The Cambridge History of China, Volume 10: Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911, Part 1

Cambridge History of China #13

by John King Fairbank (Editor)

This is the first of two volumes in this major Cambridge history dealing with the decline of the Ch'ing empire. It opens with a survey of the Ch'ing empire in China and Inner Asia at its height, in about 1800. Contributors study the complex interplay of foreign invasion, domestic rebellion and Ch'ing decline and restoration. Special reference is made to the Peking administration, the Canton trade and the early treaty system, the Taiping, Nien and other rebellions, and the dynasty's survival in uneasy cooperation with the British, Russian, French, American and other invaders. Each chapter is written by a specialist from the international community of sinological scholars. No knowledge of Chinese is necessary; for readers with Chinese, proper names and terms are identified with their characters in the glossary, and full references to Chinese, Japanese and other works are given in the bibliographies. Numerous maps illustrate the text, and there are a bibliographical essays describing the source materials on which each author's account is based.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction

730 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 1978

About the author

John King Fairbank (1907 – 1991) was an American historian of China and United States-China relations. He taught at Harvard University from 1936 until his retirement in 1977. He is credited with building the field of China studies in the United States after World War II with his organizational ability, his mentorship of students, support of fellow scholars, and formulation of basic concepts to be tested.
The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard is named after him.

Reviews

[Chloe Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

obviously THE book to read. Great overview of the topic, great intro to this history, and overall really nuanced and really easy a read. Only read a section but should return for more.