China: A History: From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire,

by Harold M. Tanner

Now available in two volumes, this accessible, yet rigorous, introduction to the political, social, and cultural history of China provides a balanced and thoughtful account of the development of Chinese civilization from its beginnings to the present day.

Each volume includes ample illustrations, a full complement of maps, a chronological table, extensive notes, recommendations for further reading and an index.

Volume 1: From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire (10,000 BCE—1799)

Volume 2: From the Great Qing Empire through the People's Republic of China (1644—2009)

'A solid, clearly written and up-to-date account of China's dynastic history, taking note of recent research, and with attention to cultural developments and economic practice. An accessible read, even for first-comers to this highly complex subject; this is an excellent introduction to China that instructors will welcome and students will enjoy.' --Michael Loewe, University Lecturer in Chinese Studies, University of Cambridge 1963—1990; Emeritus Fellow of Clare Hall

'Tanner has written an excellent text on Chinese history which offers a fine balance between the traditional and the modern. He also charts a good balance between studies of the elite, government, philosophy and diplomacy and, on the other hand, analyses of ordinary people, economic institutions, social patterns, and folk religion. The book provides a comprehensive view of Chinese culture, including developments in literature and the arts. A generous selection of illustrations facilitates comprehension of and pleasure in the visual arts. Finally, Professor Tanner's consideration of Western contact with China and the attendant problems and gains is judicious and informative.' --Morris Rossabi, Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York

'Tanner writes attractively . . . . He tells many stories of villains and heroes, of tragedy and comedy, of high culture and coarse humour, of wealth and poverty, of feast and famine, of poignant suffering, all of which keep the reader's interest and indeed fascination. It is a heroic tale that he tells and he does this superbly, rejecting myths and misunderstandings that have beset Western views of a complex country.' --G.R. Batho, The Historical Association Reviews

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction, Asia

414 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2010

Reviews

[jwberryhill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise and straightforward summary of Chinese history leading up to the nineteenth century.
Basic facts and figures supplemented by some synthetic conclusions. The prose is simple and to the point, though not very lively.

This was the first book I have read on the subject and it was a suitable introduction.

[Richard Marney · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accomplished scholar has written a classic history.

Whilst I have read through the entire book in the past, my focus this time was on the Tang Dynasty ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_...). The interest arises from our collection “Tang Dynasty Fat Ladies” a theme of sculpture popular at the time, reflecting the general prosperity of this period in Chinese history.

A personal note on reading about Chinese history - like the civilization itself, the approach must be patient, sustained and prepared to stop, reflect, dig deeper, and possibly course correct. It’s proven better to focus on smaller pieces, as opposed to race through several millennia, multiple dynasties, and countless wars, and hope to remember much…….😊

[Iain Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fulsome history that gives the big picture.

This is a great work that I found very handy in my studies on Chinese history. I own other books that cover specific era in more detail, but this provides an interesting perspective and a complete overview. I highly recommend it!

[Nari · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book intending to capture all facets of a great civilization over a four thousand year period must be necessarily compact. Tanner does a good job overall, but, to my taste, he dwells a bit too long on the poetry and art and less so on the science and technology. There is little reference to Joseph Needham's magisterial 'Science & Civilization in China'. The economy also gets shorts shrift. While the agrarian nature of the economy is mentioned often, the sophistication of the Chinese economy is not highlighted. The technology and the economy interact with each other in this society as in others.

"By 300 B.C., Chinese society had developed into a form that had many characteristics of a market economy, with most land privately owned, a high degree of social division of labor, fairly free movement of labor, and well-functioning factor and product markets." (Justin Yifu Lin, 'The Needham Puzzle: Why the Industrial Revolution Did Not Originate in China', 1995)

Many of the elements of Arthur Young's scientific (conservation) agriculture, which led to the agricultural revolution in England in the eighteenth century, had become standard practice in China before the thirteenth century.5 By the thirteenth century China probably had the most sophisticated agriculture and Chinese fields probably produced the highest yields in the world. (ibid.)"

With these features in place, why did some form of industrial revolution not take place? Mark Elvin posits the high-level equilibrium trap: while China's early acquisition of modern institutions, such as private, freehold ownership of agricultural land and the market system, provided effective incentives initially for technological innovation and diffusion, the increasing man-to-land ratio due to rapid population growth meant that the demand for labor-saving technology eventually diminished. Needham's explanation is that China's bureaucratic system was at first was favorable to the growth of science. However, it inhibited the emergence of mercantilistic values and thus "was not capable of fusing together the techniques of the higher artisanate with the methods of mathematical and logical reasoning which the scholars had worked out, so that the passage from the Vincian to the Galilean stage in the development of modern natural science was not achieved, and was perhaps not possible." (Lin 1995)

Once you look past all the dynasties and court intrigue, Chinese history is about central governments trying and, ultimately failing, to control an expanding nation. The control fails because the "technology" (writ broadly, including organizational technology) goes only so far. The bureaucratic layers are too complex and expensive, and they operate under their own logic and incentives. Bureaucracy tries to flatten the topography of social structure (and, indeed, geographic structure). The building and maintenance of the Grand Canal is illustrative. Grain could just as well have been transported from the south to the north via ships rather than by canal, but that option was simply excluded. Why? One explanation is that some powerful element in society stood to gain from the status quo. We see successive dynasties repeatedly registering farming families into units for tax purposes and mutual surveillance. Obviously, this is to capture the farm surplus, but this organization comes at a cost. The practical costs of monitoring and obtaining the surplus, but also costs due to corruption as the wealth flows up the chain.

No wonder the Chinese were preoccupied with corruption and morality. Once the central authority weakens because of the inevitable useless emperor accompanied by the inevitable natural calamity, the time is ripe for yet another punter to have a go at the throne. Another dynasty is born. Ironic, since feudal arrangements were deemed dangerous to the authority of the emperor.

The mandate of heaven, the ideal that all China must be unified and powerful under a single ruler, makes the imperial throne a very alluring prize. One would think this makes Chinese dynasties dangerously unstable. But, the main dynasties survived for 300 years (Tang, Song, Ming, Qing) or more (Shang, Han). Very powerful cultural forces have moved Chinese societies along its trajectory. Tanner mentions these forces, but does not draw out their consequences sufficiently.

[Zachary Littrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe I secretly loved learning about history all along? But either way, this was surprisingly my freaking jam. I was genuinely stoked every night taking some time to read another chapter or so and see what was happening next. A big reason is because Chinese history is genuinely fascinating:

In 1276, the long-hoped-for unification became a reality. But the unifier was not a brave scion of the Song imperial house or a spiritual heir of General Yue Fei: it was the hard-drinking Mongol warrior Qubilai Khan.

And also Tanner does a bang-up job being informative but brief, and straightforward but very interesting. For a textbook, it's got some delightful sparks of dry-wit that make me feel like Tanner is a fun professor I'd love to have:

The Tianqi emperor devoted himself to carpentry (at which he was not very good), and referred questions of state to his eunuchs.

It's worth stating again: he does a really admirable job covering lots of information about each era and dynasty over 10,000+ years of history. Yeah, a lot of it is surface level -- the Three Kingdoms period flies right by, when you could dedicate a whole book to it. But I think this is a wonderful entry point for anyone interested in Chinese history. I didn't walk away from it an expert or anything, and sure enough I have forgotten plenty already, but I am far more familiar and a little more literate in another culture's background than I was a month or so ago.

Families, when a child is born
Want it to be intelligent.
I, through intelligence,
Having wrecked my whole life,
Only hope that the baby will prove
Ignorant and stupid.
Then he will crown a tranquil life
By becoming a cabinet minister.

[Josef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed learning about ancient Chinese history. While the book covers much of the cultural, political and most thoroughly military changes, I found the simple overview enlightening. I can tell Tanner has spent a lifetime learning about this topic based on how thoroughly he describes many of the military conflicts. One thing I did notice, however, was that the amount of information shared got gradually more detailed as the book progressed chronologically. This may have been due to the fact that historical records have improved naturally with technology over time. Overall, while covering most of the Chinese history, and at times being a little dry, the author does achieve a satisfactory telling of Chinese history up until the 19th century.

[Jack Hayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great intro history to China and its people. Covered a lot of grown in a lucid and clear manner. Maybe the book was a bit heavier on early Chinese history (Shang, Zhou, Xia).

Touched also on history, literature, village life and all sorts of other things.

94% 这个书是很好！中国历史！

[Patrick Elsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not a bad book as it doesn’t follow tradition Chinese historgraphy but I will it was more in depth even for a survey book.

[Drake McCrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid introduction to China but it is written in a dry textbook manner.

[Robert D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good education, but the style of writing and the flow was sometimes hard to follow. But I will likely read Book II.

[Hudson Branum · Rating 3 out of 5]

School

[M B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid introduction to the character of pre-modern china.

[Dana Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does what it sets out to do and does so perfectly.

I think this intended to be a textbook or something for studying Chinese history, and it's structure is definitely that, but it is also very well written, organized and easy to digest. Every chapter focuses sequentially on a particular time period/dynasty, and usually discusses dynastic or family concerns of rulers, foreign relations, military engagements, culture and arts, philosophy and religion, and food and agriculture. Using this method, the key aspects of any time period are covered and make for quick reference back to those sections when those ideas appear in later time periods.

For an overview text, this book covers a ton of ground, and doesn't devote excess time to one thing over another. You'll be presented with descriptions of expansionist dynasties and foreign policies as much as you'll learn about the relationship between confucianism, daoism and Buddhism, poetry and art, and agriculture and commercial structures. It's a brilliantly painted picture and going in with little knowledge of Chinese history, very interesting to compare that timeline of advanced Chinese culture with that of Europeans at the same time.

Highly recommended.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid, readable if not terribly exciting survey of Chinese history through the Qing Empire. It is very much a beginner's book--such a short book for such a long period of time would have to be fairly cursory. But it is a good beginner's book.

[Cfredlake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick survey of China to the end of the 18 the century. A good place to start if unfamiliar with basic historical developments, cultural trends, and evolution of Chinese people and state. Never gets too deep as one would guess from a short book on such a vast topic.