Understanding Imperial China: Dynasties, Life, and Culture

by Andrew R. Wilson

A knowledge of China's imperial history is vital for any understanding of its present, as modern China is linked in many ways to the extraordinary culture of its empire. These 24 lectures take you to the heart of life during China's imperial era, through the lives of individual subjects of all social ranks. Across the arc of the course, you'll witness what daily life was like for government bureaucrats, for scholars, for women of the court, for soldiers, merchants, craftspeople, courtesans, imperial cooks, and many others - all against the backdrop of the diversity, the genius, and the majesty of imperial China.

You'll hear about such memorable sights as the grand boulevards; splendorous palaces; imposing temples of Chang'an, the medieval world's greatest city; and the Qingming Shanghetu, a 17-foot painted scroll that gloriously portrays Song Dynasty life. And you'll meet unforgettable human beings, whose lives vividly reveal the world around them, such as Ban Zhao, Han-era woman of letters, poet, scholar, and teacher; Tao Yuanming, Daoist luminary and the empire's first great poet; Zhu Yuanzhang, powerful warlord and founder of the Ming Dynasty; and Hong Xiuquan, visionary reformer and architect of the religiously inspired Taiping Rebellion.

Understanding Imperial Dynasties, Life, and Culture is your passport to this incredible, historic world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, China, Asia, Historical, Politics

13 pages, Audible Audio

Published September 22, 2017

About the author

Andrew R. Wilson is the John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies. Professor Wilson has lectured at military colleges and civilian universities across the United States and around the world.

Reviews

[Roy Lotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I embarked on this lecture series after I finished Mark Ravina’s excellent course on Japan. And I am glad to say that Wilson’s course is just as splendid. If I enjoyed it any less, it is only because Wilson focused more on matters military and economic, whereas Ravina dedicated ample time to arts and culture.

In any case, even if I was not as abysmally ignorant of China as I was of Japan, I still learned a great deal. Wilson shocks the listener right off the bat by exploding the popular idea of opium consumption in Imperial China. Mostly it was not done by wretched addicts in poorly lit caverns; it was, rather, consumed socially, in popular and even respected establishments, much like alcohol is today. Another great discovery, for me, was the Qingming Scroll, a truly awe-inspiring work of art from the Song Dynasty. Other highlights are the Grand Canal—an enormous logistical and engineering challenge—and Zheng He, the great Chinese naval commander.

Like any great introduction, this series just made me eager to learn more.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this deep dive into a subject that I've long wanted to know more about.

I'm ethnically Chinese and live in the Chinese diaspora in Singapore, so although a lot of names and stories here were familiar to me, there was an equal amount of information here that I had no idea about. It focuses not so much on what happened in which dynasty, or which emperors came after the other (indeed, that would take way too long for any audiobook), but rather on some key moments of China's 5000 year history and how it affected its common folk. Some traditions (such as wedding customs from centuries ago still happened on my own wedding day) are still being practised today, albeit in a modified and modern form.

I loved finding out about how Confucianism gave way to neo-Confucianism in the Song dynasty and how that affected (and continues to affect) the way Chinese women are treated and seen within the culture. How China's international relations changed throughout the centuries, and that they've had thriving business with so many countries around the world even centuries and centuries ago. Having been brought up with a more Western-centric education, I think we're wont to think that China has generally been closed off most of history which led to their "century of humiliation" in the 20th century, but that is so so far from the case.

This is an engaging, people-centric dive into the annals of Chinese history with interesting anecdotes that changed even my mind about what I thought I knew about it. Highly recommend for anyone interested in the topic.

[Austin (Weird) · Rating 5 out of 5]

:33333

[Ted Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilson does a wonderful job of smashing over 2000 years of history and myriad individual tales into a digestible, cohesive story. I particularly enjoyed the time he spent illustrating the unique experiences of Imperial China, like the stresses and hopes of a man preparing for the civil service exams or the ceaseless toils of a peasant woman unspooling silk worm chrysalises. This focus on the human, across all aspects of Chinese society, emphasizes personal, lived history to an extent few other Great Courses lecture series do.

[Oleg Eterevsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book (or rather course) is not quite what you would expect from an introduction to Chinese history. Instead of focusing on political history, wars and dynasties, the author explores in each 30-minute lecture a single limited subject, such as imperial exams or opium trade. This approach allows him to introduce the listener to a variety of subjects, immersing deeper into the Chinese culture and society.

While this kind of presentation gives us a glimpse into many topics that are not always covered by the traditional history textbooks, it also leaves some big gaps in the general history. Literally nothing is said about China before Qin Shi Huang. Some dynasty transitions and wars are mentioned only in passing. Though the author often compares Ming and Qing dynasties, he tell almost nothing of the formation of the Manchu state.

All of this makes me wish that I listened to this course not as a means to have an overview of Chinese history, but rather as a supplement to a main more rigorous narrative. Unfortunately, I haven't found any such history book on Audible.

[Gracelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, concise and comprehensive crash course in Chinese history.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A broad sweep over the history of imperial China. I had problems following the various historical jumps in the early going, but really enjoyed when the professor took his time and dove deep into a topic, such as with foot binding or the national exams. Still, I feel I would have benefitted from a visual element in this course, especially when it comes to descriptions of geographical features and their locations on a map.

[Iman Eyitayo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but the voice for the audio was quite hard to follow in terms of rythme and tone.

[Deeparnak Bhowmick · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is more often than not, story of the dead. But in this course we get to look at things from the perspective of the people living at those times - Right from the sculptors of the first emperor's terracotta warriors to the little girl whose feet was bound as a submission to society's obscure perception of beauty; From the Ming dynasty soldiers who rebuilt and patrolled the Great Wall, to the fatherless boy, Temüjin, who went on to be the founder of the largest land empire in all of history; From the celebrated courtesans who entertained the educated elites, to the wannabe elites preparing for the prestigious Imperial civil service exams.

Imperial China was one of the most populous, influential and powerful state in the world for almost two millenia. And to be able to look at the history of this great empire unravel right from the eyes of its protagonists was an wonderful experience.

[Magen - Inquiring Professional Dog Trainer · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was interesting, it wasn't as well done as Understanding Japan: A Cultural History and it was unfortunate I listened to this one after listening to Understanding Japan. Part of the problem was that it wasn't as good at creating clear themes. However, I do recommend this course as I learned a lot and many of the lectures are incredibly well done. I do recommend that readers keep an open mind during the first lecture where Wilson discusses opiod use. That lecture was a bit off-putting and wasn't a great way to start the series. But it gets much better from there. If you are interested in understanding Chinese culture, I recommend this series. If you are looking for a history of China, this might not be the best course for you since it does not discuss the history in a chronological or complete way.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this course and it was a bit hard to follow at times because the narrator's pronunciation of certain Chinese names is way off (I don't blame him) and I had to guess who he is referring to, based on my prior understanding of Chinese history. Every subsequent occurrence of that name then becomes an annoyance because you have to mentally correct it. Perhaps I should have read the print edition.

That aside, the course touched on a variety of subjects (mostly on Chinese culture and society) in each "lecture" instead of focusing on the typical politics and warfare in history books. However, this left some gaps in the flow of history, especially periods where conflict was the predominant theme (e.g. the Three Kingdoms).

[Elwin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely one of the best Great Courses so far I've listened to and I've gone through about 24 of them so far. Without a doubt, top 5, maybe even top 3.

One of the factors that may have greatly enhanced this experience for me was coming into this with admittedly little to now knowledge about China.

This is incredibly interesting content that covers so many different subjects about Imperial China, each and every chapter/lecture I was continually impressed and couldn't wait to hear what was going to be said next.

Everything from terracotta warriors, social classes, religion/spirituality, cruelty to women (gender roles, not allowed to read/learn, foot binding, marriage system), soul stealing (super fun section), life as an emperor, slavery, silk, tea, farming, the whole 'examination' process (holy crap, this was wild), the legal/punishment/points based system, amazing feats of human engineering such as the great canal, how the Mongolians/Great Khans of the Steppes fit into their history, and of course trying to keep track of all the different Chin, Han, Ching, etc. dynasties.

One of my weak points when it comes to exposure to material and knowledge base, is absolutely Asia and Asian culture. This was a great place to get that fire started and I really look forward to more of this! I am totally down for some more China stuff, but I also think it would be super fun to explore Japan, Vietnam, Korea, so on and so forth.

Highly recommend!

[Aaron Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a major portion of its existence (221 BCE-1912) China was an empire, one of the greatest and most powerful the world has ever known.

WARRING STATES PERIOD: 475-221 BCE
QIN DYNASTY: 221-206 BCE
HAN DYNASTY: 206 BCE-220 CE

SUI DYNASTY: 581-618 CE
TANG DYNASTY: 618-907 CE
SONG DYNASTY: 960-1279 CE





1. Opium, Trade, and War in Imperial China

2. The First Emperor's Terra-Cotta Warriors

3. China's Early Golden Age: The Han Dynasty

4. Amazing Ban Clan: Historian, Soldier, Woman

5. China's Buddhist Monks and Daoist Recluses

6. Cosmopolitan Chang'an: Tang Dynasty Capital

7. China's Grand Canal: Lifeline of an Empire

8. Triumph and Tragedy in Tang Poetry

9. Life and Times of Song Dynasty Literati

10. A Day's Journey along the Qingming Scroll

11. Peasant Life on the Yellow River

12. Rice, Silk, and Tea: South China's Peasants

13. Genghis Khan and the Rise of the Mongols

14. The Mongols and Marco Polo in Xanadu

15. Admiral Zheng He's Treasure Fleet

16. China's Bound Feet, Brides, and Widows

17. Ming Dynasty Trade and Spanish Silver

18. The Great Wall and Military Life in China

19. Qing Dynasty: Soul Stealers and Sedition

20. Emperor Qianlong Hosts a British Ambassador

21. The Taiping Rebellion and Its Cult Leader

22. China's Treaty Ports

23. Experiencing China's Civil Service Exams

24. China's Last Dynasty: Fall of the Manchus

[Jeff Beardsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is much to be learned in the modern world from a knowledge of Imperial China, its various dynasties, and most importantly from its amazing characters and figures that appear from all classes of society to change the course of their nation’s future. China’s early history, the importance of its mighty rivers and geography, its key terminus on the famed Silk Road, its position on mercantilism and globalized trade, its changing faces of power and effects on the world, its civil service exams and the effects upon society, and many of facets all play an important role in the complex story of this country. To know China today, it is imperative to know this history. This lecture series, led by Andrew R. Wilson, Ph.D., a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, goes a long way to gaining an understand of all of these drivers of Chinese culture and history. While his presentation style is at times dry and stiff, the content of the lectures is outstanding. Recommended for all who wish to gain more insight into this nation.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the fact that someone found it necessary to inform me that Professor Wilson’s views did not represent the views of the U.S. Navy, Department of Defense, or government, at the end of every single lecture, (once or twice would’ve been good enough) this was still one of the most engaging and entertaining journeys back to the Imperial age of China that I’ve ever taken. I’ve read several books and taken in at least one other series of lectures on the subject, but this is the one that really took me back and gave me a sense of what it would’ve been like.

I had a great time and learned a lot from a lecturer who really loves his subject, which is the best qualification of all my opinion.

If you want to understand more about what life was like in China between the rise of the first Emperor in the removal of the last, these lectures would be a great place to start.

This is highly recommended by me.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This great courses lecture series is an interesting take on China. It limits itself to dynastic China, ie, to before the modern times of Chiang Kai Shek and Mao Tse Tung.
The book follows an historical path from the prehistoric times and first emperor to the above modern limit.
In contrast to many other histories of China, Professor Wilson as the title suggests tends to spend most of his time talking about the Life and Culture rather than about the politics, statecraft, and warfare. Of course, in history and in other artifacts, such topics cannot be eliminated from discussing life and culture as they are often the predominant aspects of record. The course is fascinating in its attempt to discuss the cultural attributes and what it was like in each period to be part of each of the economic, religious, and societal classes.

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understanding Imperial China: Dynasties, Life, and Culture by Andrew Wilson is a pretty good social historical survey of imperial China. Some of his lectures are really rather enjoyable to go through, but often times I feel like Wilson is trying too hard. Other times his subject selection seems like it came right outside of a tour guide and an introduction to China. Did we need a lecture for Temujin/Genghis Khan? It could be justified, but when we take a step back and think about the other emperors in China's history it seems like Wilson figured that the Emperor of China we should pay the most attention to was a foreign conqueror who would only retroactively be made Emperor by an act of his descendants. It feels like there's a lot of missed opportunities here. Good, but frustratingly surface level at times.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Wilson took on an ambitious task to cover centuries of Chinese history, often successful with superb storytelling reminiscent of a Mary Beard. Some minor areas that would raise some eyebrows were his attempts to "objectively" portray the Opium Wars in context-- but the arguments took on hints of Western bias, trying to justify their colonialist aggression and invasion. Also, his pronounced Chinese infrequently the mark, other times his references to names and places were difficult to decipher (would have expected a higher standard from someone who dedicated his life to this study).

[Jordan Gisch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chinese history is vast and it would be extremely difficult to discuss everything in one book. In this book Wilson uses each chapter as a brief lesson and just a little taste of what it might have been like living in the era of topic. My favorite section was the description of the role of women's work in silk production. I listen to the audiobook but I highly recommend listening to the audiobook and reading a physical copy. I realized I've been mis pronouncing the Qing Dynasty name.

[Karo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like my history lessons to be presented in a chronological order. My brain doesn't deal well with jumps between time periods. It's something I also have with fiction. Short flashbacks, I'm okay with, but shifting era's aren't for me

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wise man said - ‘Beware of a fool who knows not, and knows not he knows not’.
This is a splendid course on China! And I just scratched the surface of understanding. So now, I know what I know not and once again I meet a fool in me. Remainder, can only be learned with experiencing it.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and plenty of unique angles (e.g. women/foot-binding, the famously demanding imperial examination process, etc.). Some good references for future study too. But I think this lecturer could have provided more interesting anecdotes, of which there are plenty in China's history.

[Thomas McKibbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and humanizing for many aspectsof Chinese history. Useful. Well done.

[Harmony Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each lecture was interesting but didn't give me nearly as much detail as I want. Think of this as a starting point to focus further research.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilson provides a good overview of Imperial China by examining specific cultural aspects of different dynasties and how those aspects carried through Chinese history.

[Hans Sandberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imperial China comes alive and allows the listener to understand this great and often perplexing country. It's an excellent and highly entertaining lecture series.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jumps around and lectures end quite suddenly, but brings the ancient Chinese world to life.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a detailed overview. Wilson does an excellent job of a using small stories to illustrate the larger concepts and points.

[Sara Goldstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved learning about an era in history I had absolutely no prior knowledge of. The Great Courses can be hit or miss for me but this one was great.

[Danica is Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough and engaging. A good Great course addition.