A weblog, mostly of book reviews, by Jim Henry

Home / Reviews index / Email me
Permanent review log URL: http://www.pobox.com/~jimhenry/review/log.htm

26 April 2003

The Ageless Chinese: A History by Dun J. Li is a good one-volume history of China, covering a period from prehistory to 1970 (in the second edition, which I read; a third edition has been published since). It divides into three parts: an Introduction (30 pp), on the geography of China, with comments on how its properties have affected Chinese history as well as speculation about how it will affect China's ability to industrialize; a long section (340 pp) about traditional China, from prehistory through the fall of the last imperial dynasty, Ch'ing (Manchu); and a third section of middling length (180 pp), which treats in more detail about contact with the West during the latter dynasties, and the periods of Chinese history most affected by Western influence, the Republic and the People's Republic. There's also an extensive bibliography of sources in English for Chinese history, and a chronological chart of interesting events in each period, besides a 21-page index, and 33 maps. As far as I can tell, it's fairly well balanced and thorough for a history of this length.

The style is very readable; though it's longer than Japan: From Prehistory to Modern Times, I was able to read it in about the same time under similar conditions. It's mostly just competent, but there are flashes of wit from time to time: for instance, in talking about the bureaucracy of the Sung dynasty: "In all history there had never been so many paid so much for doing so little."

Three editions are listed on Amazon.com:

Asimov's Science Fiction, May 2003

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2003

I may post again next weekend, or it may be the weekend after that.


<< # St. Blog's Parish ? >>

Home / Reviews index / Email me
Permanent review log URL: http://www.pobox.com/~jimhenry/review/log.htm

blogchalk: English, United States, Georgia, Atlanta, Lilburn; book reviews.


Get a GoStats hit counter