Antonomasia’s Reviews > Superpower Interrupted: The Chinese History of the World > Status Update

Amazon reviews talk about learning a lot from this book re. China's attitudes about cultural supremacy and centre of world. Am a bit puzzled bcos these things (plus the Russia-like wish to regain rest of empire) seem like common knowledge to me - plus something most countries think about themselves to an extent - that it is nevertheless useful to hear re-stated explicitly to refresh memory.

The Qin were cruel, successful initially and didn't last long - seemed to confirm idea that rulers ought to be benevolent.
Would like to hear more about how communism (various phases of) has taught, suppressed or adapted this sort of history as it seems v poss to use as anti-totalitarian fable.

It had been that the Chinese thought barbarians were civilisable & could become Chinese, but passages from other writers of this time show attitudes that sound a lot like ingrained racism - considering them animals etc. (When historians look at when racism emerged in early modern period, they are usually just looking at the west I think. does this come into it as minimal contact?)

Would like there to be more detail on literature perhaps - though at least we hear about Sima Qian, "the Chinese Herodotus" (though about 400y later). He seems to have been a bit more open minded in his attitudes at a time when opinions of barbarians were starting to harden.

Nice how books dovetail: the Romans who reached China were subjects of Marcus Aurelius. Though as many readers will know, probably merchants rather than an official embassy. Chinese ruling class had already heard about the Romans & wanted to make contact, but some emissaries were reportedly put off by Persians who wanted to maintain lucrative trade intermediary role.

It doesn't have anywhere near as much as I'd like about China's rels w other E Asian powers who adopted its culture in this formative era (its relations with powers further afield - Cent Asia, India, Europe - that are of most interest to the author), but it is nice to have China's image of itself and its history emphasised, at least.

First fun pop-culture thing. There were a lot of names for barbarian tribes (as the Romans had), but the Qin built the first GWoC to keep out the warlike tribe they called the Hu. Knowing this gives extra meaning to the band's name.

Amazed how far back totalitarian style policies go (described as such here). Ch'in/Qin period - est by rulers of that state, esp C4thBC minister Shang Yuang - before Qin conquered all of China (end of Warring States Period). Ppl in villages put into collectives with unrelated ppl where collective punishment could be applied to all if one broke a rule. ID required at inns - SY fell foul of this himself after downfall.

Audible reviewers were right about the terrible pronunciation of Chinese names. The narrator seemed to be talking about the Joh, huh? (Korean, later) . Realised after a minute he meant the Zhou dynasty, but stuff like this messes with you a bit when it's a topic you don't know that well. But he has a good voice and pace otherwise.