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Cambridge History of China #2
The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 B.C.-A.D. 220
This volume begins the historical coverage of The Cambridge History of China with the establishment of the Ch'in empire in 221 BC and ends with the abdication of the last Han emperor in AD 220. Spanning four centuries, this period witnessed major evolutionary changes in almost every aspect of China's development, being particularly notable for the emergence and growth of a centralized administration and imperial government. Leading historians from Asia, Europe, and America have contributed chapters that convey a realistic impression of significant political, economic, intellectual, religious, and social developments, and of the contacts that the Chinese made with other peoples at this time. As the book is intended for the general reader as well as the specialist, technical details are given in both Chinese terms and English equivalents. References lead to primary sources and their translations and to secondary writings in European languages as well as Chinese and Japanese.
1024 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
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About the author
Denis C. Twitchett
15 books6 followersDenis Crispin Twitchett was a British Sinologist and scholar who specialized in Chinese history and greatly expanded the role of Chinese studies in Western intellectual circles.
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March 29, 2026
For context, Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, lived from 356 to 323 BC, a whisker over a hundred years before the unification of China, when this book begins—221 BC. The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1, (henceforth the TCHOC V.1) is an epic tome of scholarship; the result of countless years of research conducted by the authors who take the reader through four centuries of Chinese history, from the establishment of the Qin (pronounced Ch'in) empire in 221 BC and ending with the abdication of the last Han emperor in AD 220.
The Qin empire was established by Qin Shi Huang after conquering the Warring States, and it is theorised the name ‘China’ is derived from ‘Qin’. The book exhaustively covers the reasons for his triumph, such as the fact Qin’s (also the name of the kingdom pre-unification) southern border was blocked by mountains, and to the east it was “girdled by the Yellow River” which gave it a strategic geographical advantage. Canals for irrigation provided economic superiority; improved technology such as wrought iron swords (stronger than bronze used by opponents) as well as a more politically and culturally adaptable society, allowing Qin to make radical innovations free of tradition and dogma, accumulated to place Qin in prime position to conquer surrounding areas.
TCHOC V.1 goes on to illustrate the foundation, operation and administration of the Qin empire; its failure and ultimate demise. Details of interest are how the empire introduced a common law, which embodied two main principles: mutual responsibility for wrongdoing, and severity of punishment sufficient to deter others from wrongdoing. Capital punishments included beheading, and for heinous crimes (e.g., treason or rebellion) criminals were boiled alive in cauldrons, cut in half, torn apart by chariots, and horrifically mutilated.
A ‘bastinado’ or stick was administered to gain confessions. An early form of detection, reading footprints, was used to solve crimes. Forms of punishment included beheading, cutting off of feet, and hard labour. No prisons existed and so labour was used - women were sentenced to hull and sift grain.
Currency was standardised—the circular cash coin with square hole kept for 2,000 years after—along with weights and measures, and even a standard gauge for vehicles so wheels would fit into cart ruts in roads throughout the empire.
The Rise and Fall of Wang Mang was an interesting section on a figure of history I’d never heard of. Almost a cult-like unkempt figure, he cared deeply for his family, studied to the point of exhaustion and attracted many followers. In 9 A.D. he declared the Han empire dead and took the throne, calling his new dynasty ‘Hsin’ or ‘New’.
During his reign, Wang Mang instituted policies to break up monopolies, tax merchants, and abolish slavery, leading to him being interpreted by historians as a visionary and socialist. Hans Bielenstein’s chapter on Wang Mang in TCHOC V.1, however, argues Mang was not an innovator when compared with Former and Later Han policies, he merely adopted them in slightly different ways. Bielenstein concludes that Wang Mang didn’t earn the praise garnered by some historians but nor does he deserve the opprobrium cast by others.
Fascinating accounts of how the Qin and Han empires managed foreign relations, such as the Hsiung-nu (not the Huns as I first thought), a steppe-based tribal federation in today’s Inner and Outer Mongolia, provide insights into how administrations kept such a massive geographic region protected from the constant threat of invasion via a system of tributes, honours, relations, and the exchange of gifts.
Of course, the creation and maintenance of the famous Chinese civil service is covered in depth. Bureaucratic hierarchies formed during the Qin and Han empires aimed to disseminate power and prevent it from residing in the individual. In theory, any man could join the service and rise from clerk to policy advisor, but this often wasn’t the case. A universal calendar was created and registers of population and land enabled taxation and conscription into the imperial army.
Fiefs of pre-unification kingdoms became government issued ‘commanderies’, which had government outposts staffed by men sent by the state. All men from 23 years old served in the army for two years then formed a local militia in their home village to be called upon when required by the state.
At the top of the bureaucratic hierarchy were three excellencies, Grand Minister of Finance, Marshal of State, and Grand Minister of works, who advised the emperor and acted as an imperial cabinet. A director of Astrology invented the first seismograph in 132 A.D.
Minister of the Imperial Household oversaw the ‘gentleman’ - the emperor’s bodyguards. The social ideal of a ‘gentleman’ is a strong theme. The concept originates in Confusion philosophy and refers to morally superior men of status, teachers and officials, who lived admirable lives to be followed. A text titled ‘Exemplary Lives’, biographies of famous gentleman, was circulated in an effort to spread the concept to the masses. For example, the biography of Wang Tan who was born with wealth but used his money to help others, lived a modest life, cared for his family’s graves, and used food to encourage hard-working farmers and withheld it to shame lazy ones.
Religion and mantic beliefs were fascinating to read about. During the Rite of Grand Exorcism, for example, wearing a bearskin, the Grand Exorcist led demons from the palace in a shamanistic dance. Human sacrifice in the Warring States period saw virgins strapped to rafts and dumped into the Yellow River as brides to the river god.
Buddhism arrived in China during Later Han (around 1 B.C.), likely brought by travellers along the silk road. And though it gets confusing at times, as it probably did in China back then, TCHOC V.1 does a good job at explaining the interrelationship between Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist and Legalist thought, as they all mixed and were variously popular or unpopular throughout the four centuries, largely depending on the Emperor’s preference.
Fanatical Chinese Buddists, following an apocryphal version of Buddhism, practiced sacrificing limbs or their whole body via self-immolation in a profound act of devotion in the pursuit of enlightenment. This practice continued in China and Vietnam until relatively recently and has been used to protest wars or as political blackmail. The origins of the practice, as TCHOC V.1 describes, were in Chinese buddhists interpreting mythical Indian figures who sacrificed themselves as real people.
Those of a Confucian mind put man before institutional power. Institutions were seen as tools for the betterment of the individual, instead of the other way around (Legalism). Variations and developments are covered, such as Han Confucianism. Espoused by Tung Chung-Shu, it connected Heaven to the Emperor in a practical way. Concern over the Emperor’s stewardship and suitability was seen as expressed through strange phenomena, such as eclipses, floods, or earthquakes, and thus could be interpreted for political means if the ruler was a tyrant and needed to be removed.
Taoism emphasised government non-action and frugality to replace the failure of legalism (Qin empire), which Taoists believed was caused by an excess of government that lacked restraint and became authoritarian. The Qin Emperor, for example, is said to have buried 460 Confucian scholars alive because they were critical of his regime and compared it to the past. For that reason, Qin also practiced book burning to erase that past.
Interesting that in later Han, a man named Wang Fu attempted to synthesise Legalist, Confucian and Taoist thought, philosophising that a worth man, a superior man, would protect free spirit and moral autonomy against ‘wayward rulers’ by opposing evil and giving no value to wealth or honour, their mind being ‘sturdy as a diamond’. These men were seen as incorruptible—an antidote to tyranny.
Overall, TCHOC V.1 effectively illustrates the creation and evolution of China’s legacy of social discipline, conformity, religion and intellectual development.
This was a mammoth tome. It took me ten months to conquer (to be fair - I was reading other books simultaneously) and it does get dry in many sections. I think where the attention to detail overrides the story, it gets bogged down in stuff that would only interest a hardcore sinologist. But considering the breadth and depth of the subject matter, and the academic backgrounds of the authors, it’s to be expected from a book like this.
China’s history is amazing; I only wish I learned about it sooner. My recommendation is to maybe not do what I did and make this your introduction to Chinese history—probably better to read something lighter that eases you in. This was like jumping in the deep end. A silly move, yes, but still worth it in my opinion—I set it to myself as a challenge. Also, in my research on what are considered the best books on Chinese history this series kept appearing at the top of the list. I can’t wait to dive into Volume 2.
The Qin empire was established by Qin Shi Huang after conquering the Warring States, and it is theorised the name ‘China’ is derived from ‘Qin’. The book exhaustively covers the reasons for his triumph, such as the fact Qin’s (also the name of the kingdom pre-unification) southern border was blocked by mountains, and to the east it was “girdled by the Yellow River” which gave it a strategic geographical advantage. Canals for irrigation provided economic superiority; improved technology such as wrought iron swords (stronger than bronze used by opponents) as well as a more politically and culturally adaptable society, allowing Qin to make radical innovations free of tradition and dogma, accumulated to place Qin in prime position to conquer surrounding areas.
TCHOC V.1 goes on to illustrate the foundation, operation and administration of the Qin empire; its failure and ultimate demise. Details of interest are how the empire introduced a common law, which embodied two main principles: mutual responsibility for wrongdoing, and severity of punishment sufficient to deter others from wrongdoing. Capital punishments included beheading, and for heinous crimes (e.g., treason or rebellion) criminals were boiled alive in cauldrons, cut in half, torn apart by chariots, and horrifically mutilated.
A ‘bastinado’ or stick was administered to gain confessions. An early form of detection, reading footprints, was used to solve crimes. Forms of punishment included beheading, cutting off of feet, and hard labour. No prisons existed and so labour was used - women were sentenced to hull and sift grain.
Currency was standardised—the circular cash coin with square hole kept for 2,000 years after—along with weights and measures, and even a standard gauge for vehicles so wheels would fit into cart ruts in roads throughout the empire.
The Rise and Fall of Wang Mang was an interesting section on a figure of history I’d never heard of. Almost a cult-like unkempt figure, he cared deeply for his family, studied to the point of exhaustion and attracted many followers. In 9 A.D. he declared the Han empire dead and took the throne, calling his new dynasty ‘Hsin’ or ‘New’.
During his reign, Wang Mang instituted policies to break up monopolies, tax merchants, and abolish slavery, leading to him being interpreted by historians as a visionary and socialist. Hans Bielenstein’s chapter on Wang Mang in TCHOC V.1, however, argues Mang was not an innovator when compared with Former and Later Han policies, he merely adopted them in slightly different ways. Bielenstein concludes that Wang Mang didn’t earn the praise garnered by some historians but nor does he deserve the opprobrium cast by others.
Fascinating accounts of how the Qin and Han empires managed foreign relations, such as the Hsiung-nu (not the Huns as I first thought), a steppe-based tribal federation in today’s Inner and Outer Mongolia, provide insights into how administrations kept such a massive geographic region protected from the constant threat of invasion via a system of tributes, honours, relations, and the exchange of gifts.
Of course, the creation and maintenance of the famous Chinese civil service is covered in depth. Bureaucratic hierarchies formed during the Qin and Han empires aimed to disseminate power and prevent it from residing in the individual. In theory, any man could join the service and rise from clerk to policy advisor, but this often wasn’t the case. A universal calendar was created and registers of population and land enabled taxation and conscription into the imperial army.
Fiefs of pre-unification kingdoms became government issued ‘commanderies’, which had government outposts staffed by men sent by the state. All men from 23 years old served in the army for two years then formed a local militia in their home village to be called upon when required by the state.
At the top of the bureaucratic hierarchy were three excellencies, Grand Minister of Finance, Marshal of State, and Grand Minister of works, who advised the emperor and acted as an imperial cabinet. A director of Astrology invented the first seismograph in 132 A.D.
Minister of the Imperial Household oversaw the ‘gentleman’ - the emperor’s bodyguards. The social ideal of a ‘gentleman’ is a strong theme. The concept originates in Confusion philosophy and refers to morally superior men of status, teachers and officials, who lived admirable lives to be followed. A text titled ‘Exemplary Lives’, biographies of famous gentleman, was circulated in an effort to spread the concept to the masses. For example, the biography of Wang Tan who was born with wealth but used his money to help others, lived a modest life, cared for his family’s graves, and used food to encourage hard-working farmers and withheld it to shame lazy ones.
Religion and mantic beliefs were fascinating to read about. During the Rite of Grand Exorcism, for example, wearing a bearskin, the Grand Exorcist led demons from the palace in a shamanistic dance. Human sacrifice in the Warring States period saw virgins strapped to rafts and dumped into the Yellow River as brides to the river god.
Buddhism arrived in China during Later Han (around 1 B.C.), likely brought by travellers along the silk road. And though it gets confusing at times, as it probably did in China back then, TCHOC V.1 does a good job at explaining the interrelationship between Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist and Legalist thought, as they all mixed and were variously popular or unpopular throughout the four centuries, largely depending on the Emperor’s preference.
Fanatical Chinese Buddists, following an apocryphal version of Buddhism, practiced sacrificing limbs or their whole body via self-immolation in a profound act of devotion in the pursuit of enlightenment. This practice continued in China and Vietnam until relatively recently and has been used to protest wars or as political blackmail. The origins of the practice, as TCHOC V.1 describes, were in Chinese buddhists interpreting mythical Indian figures who sacrificed themselves as real people.
Those of a Confucian mind put man before institutional power. Institutions were seen as tools for the betterment of the individual, instead of the other way around (Legalism). Variations and developments are covered, such as Han Confucianism. Espoused by Tung Chung-Shu, it connected Heaven to the Emperor in a practical way. Concern over the Emperor’s stewardship and suitability was seen as expressed through strange phenomena, such as eclipses, floods, or earthquakes, and thus could be interpreted for political means if the ruler was a tyrant and needed to be removed.
Taoism emphasised government non-action and frugality to replace the failure of legalism (Qin empire), which Taoists believed was caused by an excess of government that lacked restraint and became authoritarian. The Qin Emperor, for example, is said to have buried 460 Confucian scholars alive because they were critical of his regime and compared it to the past. For that reason, Qin also practiced book burning to erase that past.
Interesting that in later Han, a man named Wang Fu attempted to synthesise Legalist, Confucian and Taoist thought, philosophising that a worth man, a superior man, would protect free spirit and moral autonomy against ‘wayward rulers’ by opposing evil and giving no value to wealth or honour, their mind being ‘sturdy as a diamond’. These men were seen as incorruptible—an antidote to tyranny.
Overall, TCHOC V.1 effectively illustrates the creation and evolution of China’s legacy of social discipline, conformity, religion and intellectual development.
This was a mammoth tome. It took me ten months to conquer (to be fair - I was reading other books simultaneously) and it does get dry in many sections. I think where the attention to detail overrides the story, it gets bogged down in stuff that would only interest a hardcore sinologist. But considering the breadth and depth of the subject matter, and the academic backgrounds of the authors, it’s to be expected from a book like this.
China’s history is amazing; I only wish I learned about it sooner. My recommendation is to maybe not do what I did and make this your introduction to Chinese history—probably better to read something lighter that eases you in. This was like jumping in the deep end. A silly move, yes, but still worth it in my opinion—I set it to myself as a challenge. Also, in my research on what are considered the best books on Chinese history this series kept appearing at the top of the list. I can’t wait to dive into Volume 2.
June 16, 2021
The best and most thorough treatment of the subject I've seen. It needs two things:
1. Update from the old Wade-Giles pinyin which has been greatly superseded by the Hanyu, particularly on Wikipedia
2. A chapter on science and technology, though one can use Needham as a supplement in this regard
1. Update from the old Wade-Giles pinyin which has been greatly superseded by the Hanyu, particularly on Wikipedia
2. A chapter on science and technology, though one can use Needham as a supplement in this regard
August 6, 2015
Nah ini baru puas mwahahahhahhahaha.
September 27, 2021
剑桥中国史，被翻译成中文，也很好。很多中国人也想通过外国人的视角看中国。
Read
May 16, 2025they kicked me out of the school library while i was going through this series last year and for that this gets five stars
August 16, 2025
Volume One of The Cambridge History of China — like Sten’s cake in Dragon Age: Origins — is a lie.
It’s a collection of essays by subject-matter experts ranging across China’s history from the height of the Qin Dynasty to the emergence of organised Buddhism and Daoism during the contention of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Afterwards came the conquests of Yáng Jiān (楊堅), the Cultured God-King of the Sui Dynasty (隋文帝).
I was about five hundred pages in before realising that the series has a companion book, The Cambridge History of Ancient China, that was more deserving of the title *Volume One*. Oh well — tears can’t be unspilt, and volume one can’t be rewritten. Such is life.
---
What it covers:
Completing this volume will leave you well-informed about the history of China over the four-hundred-some years that saw the emergence, entrenchment, and ultimate survival of the imperial institution.
It covers the dynastic histories of the Qin, Western Han, Xin, and Eastern Han, and alludes to the era of the Warring States to come. The writers also delve into dynastic foreign policy, state institutions, law, economic history, philosophy, and religion.
---
What doesn’t work:
* Uneven prose quality (inevitable when multiple authors are involved).
* No quarter given to beginners — expect your notes to need notes!
* Published in the 1980s, so it uses Wade-Giles transliteration. The style isn’t just repulsive; it’s *labour-intensive* to correct. You haven’t lived until you realise “Pen-chi ching” is really Běnshǐ Jīng (本始經).
Wise men say only fools rush in. They also say don’t teach kids to play with fire. I suppose playing with fire is the equivalent of giving this book to a Cao Cao-stanning, eunuchs-understanding, Don’t Trust the Confucians partisan like me.
I’ll admit: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It makes you question orthodoxy — which, in the past, could have gotten you killed! Thankfully, under online pseudonymity, the worst is ALL CAPS responses.
The book relies heavily on literary sources — essentially retelling the official imperial histories in English. That’s like getting your history of WWII from Churchill. Valuable, yes, but hardly neutral.
Yet the erudition of the authors left me with more questions than answers. For example:
* What do we mean by “China”? Is it an it — a place or idea? Or a she — a defined country?
* If “China” comes from “Qin” via Portuguese, how could the Indians have known about the Qin Empire when Buddhism (the bridge between the regions) only reached China centuries after Qin had perished?
* Isn’t the Former Qin (前秦: 351–394) — with its attested links to India and Buddhist transmission — a more plausible “China” for Indian contacts than the short-lived Qin Empire?
The literati dismissed the Former Qin because its rulers were of proto-Tibetan Di stock. They also swung wildly on Buddhism: first claiming Laozi and Buddha were the same person, then that Laozi was Buddha’s student, and finally denouncing Buddhism as a pernicious foreign faith. Why some still treat their words as gospel is beyond me.
Millennia later, I can say: Buddha was Indian, but Chan Buddhism is Chinese. Reading this volume convinced me that — in these centuries — “China” was primarily an idea. E Pluribus Unum impels empire. The notion that many could be forged into one began as a Confucian dream, but it was brought (kicking and screaming) into being by the wolves of Qin and the tiger-generals of Han.
The authors see China more narrowly, but their effort is still invaluable.
Reading Volume One of The Cambridge History of China is a far better use of time than watching polished Wikipedia summaries on YouTube. You’ll finish it with a hunger to know more.
Shame about that Wade-Giles bidness though.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s a collection of essays by subject-matter experts ranging across China’s history from the height of the Qin Dynasty to the emergence of organised Buddhism and Daoism during the contention of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Afterwards came the conquests of Yáng Jiān (楊堅), the Cultured God-King of the Sui Dynasty (隋文帝).
I was about five hundred pages in before realising that the series has a companion book, The Cambridge History of Ancient China, that was more deserving of the title *Volume One*. Oh well — tears can’t be unspilt, and volume one can’t be rewritten. Such is life.
---
What it covers:
Completing this volume will leave you well-informed about the history of China over the four-hundred-some years that saw the emergence, entrenchment, and ultimate survival of the imperial institution.
It covers the dynastic histories of the Qin, Western Han, Xin, and Eastern Han, and alludes to the era of the Warring States to come. The writers also delve into dynastic foreign policy, state institutions, law, economic history, philosophy, and religion.
---
What doesn’t work:
* Uneven prose quality (inevitable when multiple authors are involved).
* No quarter given to beginners — expect your notes to need notes!
* Published in the 1980s, so it uses Wade-Giles transliteration. The style isn’t just repulsive; it’s *labour-intensive* to correct. You haven’t lived until you realise “Pen-chi ching” is really Běnshǐ Jīng (本始經).
Wise men say only fools rush in. They also say don’t teach kids to play with fire. I suppose playing with fire is the equivalent of giving this book to a Cao Cao-stanning, eunuchs-understanding, Don’t Trust the Confucians partisan like me.
I’ll admit: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It makes you question orthodoxy — which, in the past, could have gotten you killed! Thankfully, under online pseudonymity, the worst is ALL CAPS responses.
The book relies heavily on literary sources — essentially retelling the official imperial histories in English. That’s like getting your history of WWII from Churchill. Valuable, yes, but hardly neutral.
Yet the erudition of the authors left me with more questions than answers. For example:
* What do we mean by “China”? Is it an it — a place or idea? Or a she — a defined country?
* If “China” comes from “Qin” via Portuguese, how could the Indians have known about the Qin Empire when Buddhism (the bridge between the regions) only reached China centuries after Qin had perished?
* Isn’t the Former Qin (前秦: 351–394) — with its attested links to India and Buddhist transmission — a more plausible “China” for Indian contacts than the short-lived Qin Empire?
The literati dismissed the Former Qin because its rulers were of proto-Tibetan Di stock. They also swung wildly on Buddhism: first claiming Laozi and Buddha were the same person, then that Laozi was Buddha’s student, and finally denouncing Buddhism as a pernicious foreign faith. Why some still treat their words as gospel is beyond me.
Millennia later, I can say: Buddha was Indian, but Chan Buddhism is Chinese. Reading this volume convinced me that — in these centuries — “China” was primarily an idea. E Pluribus Unum impels empire. The notion that many could be forged into one began as a Confucian dream, but it was brought (kicking and screaming) into being by the wolves of Qin and the tiger-generals of Han.
The authors see China more narrowly, but their effort is still invaluable.
Reading Volume One of The Cambridge History of China is a far better use of time than watching polished Wikipedia summaries on YouTube. You’ll finish it with a hunger to know more.
Shame about that Wade-Giles bidness though.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
April 10, 2025
A rather dull and plodding book but it does cover the ground albeit in what is now a very out-of-date viewpoint. But as a pretty thorough coverage of the facts it takes a lot of beating.
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