China: Its History and Culture (Paperback)

~ Scott W. Morton (Author) "China, 3,600,000 square miles in extent, is about the same size as the United States and second only to Soviet Russia in area..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Hong Kong, Cultural Revolution (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

China will be watched closely in the 1990s as it moves toward a market economy while retaining Communist control; as it deals with the repercussions of the Tiananmen Square suppression; as the Republic of China in Taiwan continues to make immense economic strides; and as Hong Kong, a British Crown colony since 1842, nears return to the People's Republic. In this edition of his book, Dr. Morton provides illuminating background information and rich insights into these developments. He has also revised the volume throughout, bringing up to date the sections on literature, law, the family, housing, and the role of women. For Westerners--whether students, travelers, or interested readers, there is no better introduction to China, past and present, than this concise yet beautifully written volume.

From the Back Cover

A concise and thorough history of one of the world's most powerful nations

This brilliantly lucid and concise study traces China's history and culture from Neolithic times to the present, working into an integrated and authoritative narrative that covers centuries of politics, warfare and government, science and technology, economics and commerce, religion, philosophy, and the arts. Most valuable of all, Dr. Morton illuminates the essential Chinese design, the underlying mental set of the people and the society. He has given approximately equal treatment to all premodern periods, as each has its importance in the evolving history of the Chinese experience, and has illustrated the work with numerous photographs, maps, paintings and drawings and quotations from the literature.

Newly updated and revised, China: Its History and Culture, Fourth Edition, also carefully examines the crucial social and economic changes that have taken place in China over the last decade.

"A wonderful job! So lucid, beautifully written, with great range and insight. This will set a new standard for short general histories of China."--Michael Gasster, professor emeritus of history at Rutgers University

"Simple, concise, factual, and yet comprehensive, penetrating and readable."--Wing-Tsit Chan, Professor of Chinese Philosophy and Culture Emeritus, Dartmouth College

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 3 edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070434247
• ISBN-13: 978-0070434240
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #922,832 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent short history, November 4, 2004

By	P. Callaway (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: China: Its History and Culture (4th Edition) (Paperback)

This book does an excellent job of condensing centuries of history into its most salient points. The authors manage to pick the biggest factors of change or stability in each time period, and do a good job of tieing in the high points of Chinese culture, including art, religion and philosophy. I read this book before my trip to China and felt very well briefed on the long and diverse history of the area, especially for such a short volume. I thought it was a great introduction to Chinese history and culture, and found many reference items included to follow up on. Well done.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, Concise Overview of Chinese History, May 8, 2006

By	Mark Brimm "a reviewer" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: China: Its History and Culture (4th Edition) (Paperback)

With such a huge subject, this book makes easy work of approaching the dynasties and intellectual movements without fear of overload. In roughly 350 pages, the authors take the reader from Zhou to Zemin with a minimum of effort and confusion. For those who think China has no exciting movements and tales, think again. the most indelible impression on the Chinese nation was made by a single 15-yr dynasty (the Qin Dynasty, for which the westernized name "China" came into Romanized coinage, and which, speaking of coinage, finally standardized coinage to a state that remained unchanged until modern times. The Qin expanded to the current borders closer than any other had done before or since, and codified laws via Legalism, rather than the lax Confucian tradition of reasonable mediation). Most other dynasties lasted several hundreds of years, yet made far less noteworthy statebuilding achievements, nor were as unsupported by the populace at large. The Qin also hosted the first "cultural revolution" in Chinese history, which would much later be repeated under Mao with unexpectedly disastrous effects.

Rome never knew of China beyond the association with silk trade, mostly from merchant tales. This state of affairs held largely unchanged until modern times, whereas China knew Romans intimately from around 300 AD onward. Learn why China fell so quickly in with Communist ideology and why the color red was so natural a choice for a Chinese revolutionary movement (if somewhat ironic).

After reading this, for an expanded look, buy Gernet's legendary work of same subject.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is China too big of a subject for a short book?, March 30, 2002

By	Aaron Brown (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

I loved Scott Morton's book on Japan. The China book, however, was difficult to get through. I think part of the reason is that China is too big. I've tried other books on Chinese history and they all seem to have the same problem. There is so much going on its hard to get a feel for each time period. To get a more intimate look China's history would probably have to be studied by region (or by periods).