Common Knowledge About Chinese History

by Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, Office of Chinese Language Council International

An introduction to the history of China, covering events from the pre-Qin period through the twentieth century; presented in Chinese with English translation on facing pages, and including photographs.

Genres: China, History, Nonfiction

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this to practise Chinese, always reading a few paragraphs in German and then the Chinese equivalent. It was quite interesting to learn about early Chinese history - and to get the Chinese government's interpretation of modern history. Some things were covered too shortly, which I guess is necessary in a book of this scope, but on the whole it was quite enjoyable.

[Dennis Sell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it interesting to see China’s history from China’s POV. It’s by the Chinese government, so interpret the contents as you will. Having the Chinese characters next to English descriptions was definitely helpful in learning many of the names.

3 stars because the English translation is sloppy. I wasn’t sure what I was reading at a few points.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a Chinese woman who taught Chinese in my classroom during my prep period during the 2010-2011 school year. She left her husband and young son to come to Utah and teach in a high school and junior high. This book was really interesting because it was written by the Chinese government and is the book they normally have Chinese youth who are living over seas read to learn more about their country. So of course there is some obvious bias. I didn't know much about Chinese history to begin with and now all I know is from the Chinese government's point of view. Hah! I did notice, however, that the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 was not mentioned. The last item of contemporary history mentioned in the book? The 2008 Beijing Olympics.

[白狼 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief overview of Chinese history with good illustrations and written in chinese and english word.

[Cleo · Rating 1 out of 5]

We're reading part of this in my Chinese class, and it infuriates me. It's basically propaganda distributed by the Chinese government. I have many problems with this book.

First of all, the English side of it is riddled with grammar and syntax errors. What was kind of humorous was that in the afterward the authors ask you to contact them if you see any errors. Well, they made an error in the afterward.

Second of all, practically the whole book is lies. I'm serious. The first section claims that China is the birthplace of humans, or something like that. We all know (or at least, I hope we all know) that humans originated in Africa. Then, the book proceeds to talk about Peking Man and the other early hominids found in China. But instead of calling them hominids, they're called "humans". This implies that they're modern humans, which they most certainly were not. It also might imply that they're the direct descendants of modern humans. Again, no.

And most importantly, the section about Communism acts as if Communism was so amazing. It made China progress in leaps and bounds! It helped the economy! They neglect to mention the atrocities inflicted on the people and the environment.

I'm sorry if this was more of a rant than a review, but this book makes me angry. It's a prime example of propaganda today. It purports to be history, but it is not.

I'll probably be adding more to this later.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is dual language, English and Chinese, and as such is easier than the previous Chinese history book I finished reading. I would definitely recommend it to intermediate learners who are wanting material to practice. The book is let down a little by the English translation, and the fact that it takes the most common views of Chinese history, many of which have been disputed in modern scholarship. But it is good for learning vocabulary and practising reading. The last third was the most uninteresting for me as from 1840 on it was mostly just military history rather than social or cultural history. It is very biased, with no mention of the cultural revolution or anything, just male politicians and their importance. European and Americans are (rightly) imperialistic powers, but then when it comes to Chinese colonies, these are all "part" of China. The Imperial history is a bit better, with emphasis on cultural achievement as well, though this also tends to be quite biased towards the men and what it thinks "westerners" will be interested in. I'd recommend this for very good language practice, not for learning about Chinese history.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

One page is written in Chinese and the other in English. It is filled with beautiful pictures from all over China.