☆ Chinese History in 50 Events ☆ As one of the oldest civilizations in the world, China has a vast, rich history. In order to assist with the study of Chinese history, this book has been broken down into a series of straightforward, easy-to-read vignettes. Inside you will read about... ✓ The Great Flood ✓ The Great Wall is begun ✓ The Terra Cotta Army is created ✓ Gunpowder is invented ✓ Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution ✓ Marco Polo travels to China ✓ The Forbidden City is completed ✓ First Opium War ✓ SARS outbreak And much more! This book will provide in-depth insights into some of the most important events in Chinese history while providing an overall context within which these events took place. Designed as an introductory overview of Chinese history, this book is the perfect resource for those who are seeking to expand their knowledge of China and world history.
Henry Freeman is an author and archaeologist. He has a passion for history and loves to travel the world exploring various historical sites.
Henry graduated from the University of Cambridge with a double major in History and Archaeology and shortly after that started his career as an archaeologist.
After traveling the world getting first-hand experience with history, Henry was determined to take up his dream of becoming a best-selling author.
He decided to partner up with the newly formed publishing company Hourly History writing short, concise and straightforward history books that never takes more than one hour to read.
The history of China is vast and has been shrouded in mystery. Having said that this book does a great job in covering nearly 4000 years of known Chinese history in just 50 odd pages. From the great floods to the rise of Xia, Shang, Zhou, Yuan& Ming dynasties; From the invention of paper & gunpowder to the building of great wall; From the Opium wars to the ‘Great Leap’ & Tiananmen Square, almost all significant events are covered. Some interesting chapters include ‘Heaven's Mandate’ and did China discover America first, which will want you to read more about the Chinese history.
There are some notable omissions like Indo-China War, China going nuclear & joining WTO but it can excused considering the overall coverage. Do not expect an in-depth coverage of any era but it will provide you a chance to discover any era which you may want to explore later. Overall it is a good attempt to summarise the long history and if you are looking for a very quick overview of the history of China, this book is perfect for you!
As much as I'm passionate about China's history, and I always welcome any new work that can introduce people to this great culture that had such a powerful impact on the whole world, this book just simply does not live up to the expectations of the title. Rather than 50 crucial events that shaped China's history, you get some interesting, yet disjointed information about China's past, peppered with typos, extremely bad editing, and statements that are simply not true. All rushed and done in less than 50 pages. Too bad, really.
History lovers will likely appreciate this quick, accessible book about the history of China. Within these pages, readers become enlightened about China, dating back thousands of years. The good part is that this information is compact and straight to the point. You get to the core of the matter.
The topics discussed are chosen for their relevance and familiarity, but even if readers have heard about certain of these subjects, they are sure to learn more interesting aspects about them. Some of the topics brought up are: The Great Wall of China, Confucius, The Terra Cotta Army, the invention of paper, important dynasties, when the Romans first reached China, and many other good themes.
This book is short and an easy read. It is definitely worth the time to advance one’s knowledge in world history. The writing is engaging, not a dry history book, and readers can get through it quickly then feel like they’re taking away something good from the experience.
Tue book is like a sneak peak to the Chinese history. Personally I'm too interested in history so I read the book and also out of curiosity I learnt something about China and it's history . Feeling like I had choose the right book to read after reading it. And special thanks to Henry Sir who shares his great knowledge about Chinese history through the book with us. Thank you Sir
It was an excellent overview of Chinese history in general, but it was surprising the author admitted to the death toll at Tiananmen Square when in the last 3 pages he went full sycophant. A book this short & broad can't get 5 stars, but a book that ends with such sycophantry can't get 4 stars either.
I really enjoyed the recap of the Chinese history that I learned in my AP classes back in high school, as well as some of the more modern history of the nation. I hadn't realized that China's recent history was so checkered. Overall a great book I'm looking forward to reading the last installment of the series. I would also love to read installments on some of the Central and South American countries or even Ireland and Scotland.
The author has very captivatingly summarized the Chinese history right from when homo sapiens stepped on Chinese hinterlands to the rise and fall of various dynasties, making and repair of the great Wall of china and finally the establishment of the Republic of China under CCP as we see today.
Well written and easy to understand. The only thing I would recommend updating about this book is the information about the SARS outbreak and how it led to successful protocols on how to deal with a pandemic. Maybe not so true in 2020? Reading this in 2020 with covid suspected to come from Wuhan, China, it would be prudent to include this data into such a fine book.
It covered the terracotta warriors, the opium wars, the boxers, Marco Polo, Confucius, the forbidden city etc. Hmm, well there was certainly a lot of history packed into 41 pages. I found it jumped around a bit and it didn't really flow. Wasn't too sure about the viewpoints on some of the events covered either.
A short survey of Chinese history from pre-history to the Beijing Olympic Games. There’s a few interesting elements in here, but recognize that the author is covering 10,000 years in just a few pages. Good for what it is.
This very informative book provides a broad overview of the major historical events that have shaped China into its current state. Furthermore this book allows a historical understanding of Chinese culture that has been stigmatized by Hollywood.
Really well written. If you want a brief but good book on Chinese history, this book is for you. Its amazing how the author covers so much in such a little book!
I didn't know what to expect when I began to read The History of China in 50 Events. The book was short so I read right through. I gave it a five-star rating because there is no four and one half. I enjoyed it immensely. However, claiming no expertise, I wonder if it is an oversimplification or if most of the essentials were covered. The short history, kindled an interest I never thought I would have, and I feel as if I could be mildly conversant about China. I am starting another about England.
I love books like this. A quick overview of important parts of the history of a land or a culture. It gives perspective and an opportunity to find specific items you want to study in depth elsewhere.
As a first dip into Chinese history, this book is very short, easy to read, and gives an OK overview. However, that overview is only OK, and is too brief. I would love to have twice the detail on each of the 50 events, and even with that, this book would have been short. I wouldn't recommend this if you know anything about Chinese history.