Imperial China: The Decline of the Last Dynasty and the Origins of Modern China The 18th and 19th Centuries

The China Reader #1

by Franz Schurmann (Editor), Orville Schell (Editor)

A documentary history based on the contemporary accounts and historical examinations selected from the writings of political leaders, literary men, scholars, and journalists. Among those included are John K. Fairbank, Joseph R. Levenson, Francois Quesnay, C.K. Yang, Mary C. Wright, Benjamin Schwartz, Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, and Sir Robert Hart.

Genres: History

322 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 1967

Reviews

[Marc Kirner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book with historical perspectives on the Qing dynasty. I see many parallels with today. Reminds me of the George Santayana quote about "those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. I'm sure others had that same thought down though time, but the statement is attributed to him. Well worth reading except for one section, pp.283-292 an essay by Ben Schwartz. That one was as dry as the West Texas desert.

[Philip]

NOTE: Probably just for hardcore students of the Chinese Nationalist period, which a much younger version of me once was.

But no longer; and so my copy of this book is available free to any Goodreader who is willing to pay for shipping, (in the $4-5 range to anywhere in the U.S.). If interested and you have my email, just send a note with the word "Goodreads" somewhere in the text or subject, so I can find in a search. If you DON'T have my email, add a comment on this review with YOUR email, and I'll get back to you to set something up. Happy reading!

You can see other books on my "available free to friends" bookshelf (still under construction); meanwhile, here's a blurry photo with some of the other available titles: