Ancient China (Eyewitness Books) [Hardcover]

Arthur Cotterell (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: Eyewitness Books

Illus. with full-color photos. From the earliest dynasty to the last emperor, watch 3,000 years of splendor come alive in this colorful chronicle of the civilization that's given us everything from gunpowder to dim sum.  

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-10-Done in typical "Eyewitness" format, this volume touches upon such topics as Chinese history, the first emperor, inventions, health and medicine, waterways, food and drink, clothing, the Silk Road, and arts and crafts. Material from as recent as the last dynasty, which ended in 1911, is included; because all of the information is presented in double-page spreads, some cover extremely wide time frames. Reproductions of Chinese paintings and prints, while in full color, are sometimes so small as to be virtually useless. Confucianism is incorrectly called a religion; likewise the Great Wall is attributed to the first emperor rather than to Ming times. Given these limitations, the book will nonetheless be popular for browsing.
Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

...a mini museum between the covers of a book. [Eyewitness series] -- The New York Times

These books' striking visual impact will draw in even the most casual readers. [Eyewitness series] -- School Library Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 63 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (September 10, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067986167X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679861676
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #874,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!, January 14, 2002

By 

Marta A. (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eyewitness: Ancient China (Eyewitness Books) (Hardcover)

Ancient China was the best book dealing with China that I have so far read. It was intriguing how I learned, saw, and discovered many things in only about 65 pages. The beautiful photography gave the words life. This book proves excellence truly exists and gives the word perfection an even greater new meaning.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient China, March 13, 2005

By 

T-Rex "Rex Sheng" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eyewitness: Ancient China (Eyewitness Books) (Hardcover)

This book report is about the world's oldest continuous civilization called China. From 221 B.C to A.D 1912 in China was combined under a great and powerful empire called the Qin Empire. Ancient China was remained untouched because it was apart by the huge a scorching deserts, mountain ranges, and the ocean. It was cut off from other cultures such as India, West Asia, and Europe. China's social structure was a main role in maintaining its national stability. What also helped China together was a great philosopher named Confucius who encouraged people to lead an ordered family way of life. Once in a while the Chinese empire experienced short periods of unrest and disunity and attacks from foreigners. During those times they changed the governments and they built many innovations and technological advances such as gunpowder, paper, printing, and industrial machinery. The Chinese people still used the same customs and traditions and stayed remarkably to today.

The first dynasty to leave historical record was the Shang Dynasty. Their kings ruled the greater part of northern China from 1650 to 1027 B.C., where the soil was fertile and had enough water from the Yellow River. The ruler of the dynasty was a priest or known as the Son of Heaven. He had to believe that his empire has to maintain good relations between our world and heaven. The Shang Dynasty had many slaves, but they rely upon the labor of their rural population. The peasant farmers cultivated the soil and took parts hunting for food and served as soldiers in the army.

Confucius believed that the early years of the Zhou dynasty were golden years of social harmony. During his lifetime, he saw growing disorder and saw reducing power in the dynasty. This fight became more and more turmoil, which led Confucius to develop a moral outlook. It was based on happiness, respect for elders, and strength in the family. He had a saying that a good ruler should set an example by dealing with people. In return, the people had to respect and obey their emperor. Confucius also believed that different families should be governed by common family relationships with a stable society. After Confucius encouraged ancestor worship because it strengthened families. Then the Chinese came to see themselves as a part of a greater family.

For three centuries of war marked a decline of the Zhou dynasty. This dynasty became unstable, so in 481 B.C. China was separated into seven warring states. The battles became large in scale with crossbowmen, cavalry, armored infantry, and chariots. During the war many men were killed and wounded. In 260 B.C. Sun Zi, a writer, wrote the Art of War, the world's oldest military handbook, which gave nobles practice of warfare. Eventually the northwestern state of Qin was victorious and united the feuding lords under one empire. The military began to decline and the civil service grew in importance and Confucianism came in.

During the 250 years of the Chinese empire was occupied a non-Chinese people from the north of the Great Wall. China prospered for 150 years of Manchu, Qin, and different rulers who ruled China. For the first time Chinese technology fell behind and France, Russia, and Japan began to bully the Qin empire. In 1912, ancient China was brining to an end of 2000 years of imperial history.

I recommend this Eyewitness Book: Ancient China because if learning about China in history class it can help you a lot. It has many captions you can read from and learn more just by reading it and the pictures shows you many things what were like and different paintings and sculptures. So whoever likes this may be smarter because they might learn something.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, April 3, 2000

By 

Jo-Ann (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient China (Eyewitness Books) (Hardcover)

This book and all Eyewitness books for that matter, are excellent for the classroom, child care centre, and home. Filled with real photographs and valuable information, this book is highly recomended!