A Brief History of Chinese Civilization (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This concise book emphasizes Chinese cultural history while also covering political and economic history. It is introductory in both style and content, and the organization is kept as simple as possible. Brief coverage of each major Chinese dynasty or other discrete period is treated in a separate chapter. Coverage includes recent developments in China, up to and including the massacre at Tiananmen Square. Timelines, charts, or key dates appear at the beginning of chapters. Chinese names are printed in Pinyin with Wade-Giles in parentheses.

About the Author

Conrad Schirokauer, Senior Scholar and Adjunct Professor at Columbia and Professor Emeritus at the City University of New York, received his doctorate from Stanford. He has studied in Paris and conducted research in Japan and China. His published papers and articles deal mostly with Song intellectual history. He is co-editor, with Robert Hymes, of ORDERING THE WORLD: APPROACHES TO STATE AND SOCIETY IN SUNG DYNASTY CHINA (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993). His current research is on Song perceptions of and attitudes toward history. Schirokauer was associated with a New York University summer graduate program for teachers in Japan and China and remains interested in how history is taught and written. As a textbook author, he has published A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHINESE AND JAPANESE CIVILIZATIONS (Second Edition 1989), with separate volumes on China (1990) and Japan (1993), all now available from Wadsworth. Also worth mention, is his translation OF CHINA’S EXAMINATION HELL by Miyazaki Ichisada (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976,1981), which he recommends to any student who feels burdened by examinations.Press, 1976,1981), which he recommends to any student who feels burdened by examinations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 1 edition (July 18, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0155055682
• ISBN-13: 978-0155055681
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #987,560 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brief History of Chinese Civilization - Very Useful Survey, September 12, 2000

By	Margarret Fidow (HONG KONG SAR) - See all my reviews

I found this a well indexed book to support a course in the History of Chinese Civilization (as a student) - easy to digest but with rich illustration of pieceds of art etc.

Good text for a first year CHinese or Asian history course or for background to language and culture.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not rivetting but a good place to start - 3.5 stars, December 2, 2008

By	M. J. Keel (Somewhere in the Far East) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

In this relatively short work you will get a basic overview of the 4000 or so years of Chinese history. Schirokauer does a good job of giving a concise yet somewhat detailed account of not only Chinese history, but also developments in art, culture, religion, and philosophy. I was also pleased with his inclusion of the common people as well as emperors, generals, etc. The only problem is that this book suffers from a common problem among history textbooks; it is a bit dry. The book is not terribly written, but it took more a month to slog through b/c I frankly did not look forward to reading it even though I found the subject matter interesting and relevant (I live in the Far East). All that said this is a good place to start for a study of Chinese history. Just a bit of a slog.