Borrow it
Coverart for item
The Resource The story of China : the epic history of a world power from the middle kingdom to Mao and the China dream, Michael Wood

The story of China : the epic history of a world power from the middle kingdom to Mao and the China dream, Michael Wood

Creator
Author
Summary
Michael Wood has traveled the length and breadth of China, the world's oldest civilization and longest lasting state, to tell a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity, and deep humanity that stretches back thousands of years. After a century and a half of foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution, China has once again returned to center stage as a global superpower and the world's second largest economy. But how did it become so dominant? Wood argues that in order to comprehend the great significance of China today, we must begin with its history. The Story of China takes a fresh look at the Middle Kingdom in the light of the recent massive changes inside the country. Taking into account exciting new archaeological discoveries, the book begins with China's prehistory-the early dynasties, the origins of the Chinese state, and the roots of Chinese culture in the age of Confucius. Wood looks at particular periods and themes that are now being reevaluated by historians, such as the renaissance of the Song with its brilliant scientific discoveries. He paints a vibrant picture of the Qing Empire in the 18th century, just before the European impact, a time when China's rich and diverse culture was at its height. Then, Wood explores the encounter with the West, the Opium Wars, the clashes with the British, and the extraordinarily rich debates in the late 19th century that pushed China along the path to modernity. Finally, he provides a clear up-to-date account of post-1949 China, including revelations about the 1989 crisis based on newly leaked inside documents, and fresh insights into the new order of President Xi Jinping. All woven together with landscape history and the author's own travel journals, The Story of China is the indispensable book about the most intriguing and powerful country on the world stage today.--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First U.S. edition.
Extent
608 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Contents
  • Prologue: Beijing, December 1899
  • Roots
  • The great war of the Shang
  • The mandate of Heaven
  • The First Emperor and the unification of China
  • The Han Empire
  • The glory of the Tang
  • Decline and fall
  • The five dynasties
  • The Song renaissance
  • The fall of the Northern Song
  • The Southern Song, 1127-1279
  • The Yuan: China under the Mongol empire
  • The Ming
  • The last days of the Ming
  • The great Qing: the long eighteenth century
  • The opium wars and the Taiping
  • The great Chinese revolution, 1850-1950
  • The age of reform: from the Republic to Mao
  • The rise of the new China
  • Afterword
Isbn
9781250202574
Instance
Label
The story of China : the epic history of a world power from the middle kingdom to Mao and the China dream
Title
The story of China
Title remainder
the epic history of a world power from the middle kingdom to Mao and the China dream
Statement of responsibility
Michael Wood
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Michael Wood has traveled the length and breadth of China, the world's oldest civilization and longest lasting state, to tell a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity, and deep humanity that stretches back thousands of years. After a century and a half of foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution, China has once again returned to center stage as a global superpower and the world's second largest economy. But how did it become so dominant? Wood argues that in order to comprehend the great significance of China today, we must begin with its history. The Story of China takes a fresh look at the Middle Kingdom in the light of the recent massive changes inside the country. Taking into account exciting new archaeological discoveries, the book begins with China's prehistory-the early dynasties, the origins of the Chinese state, and the roots of Chinese culture in the age of Confucius. Wood looks at particular periods and themes that are now being reevaluated by historians, such as the renaissance of the Song with its brilliant scientific discoveries. He paints a vibrant picture of the Qing Empire in the 18th century, just before the European impact, a time when China's rich and diverse culture was at its height. Then, Wood explores the encounter with the West, the Opium Wars, the clashes with the British, and the extraordinarily rich debates in the late 19th century that pushed China along the path to modernity. Finally, he provides a clear up-to-date account of post-1949 China, including revelations about the 1989 crisis based on newly leaked inside documents, and fresh insights into the new order of President Xi Jinping. All woven together with landscape history and the author's own travel journals, The Story of China is the indispensable book about the most intriguing and powerful country on the world stage today.--
Assigning source
Publisher's description
Biography type
contains biographical information
Cataloging source
YDX
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1948-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Wood, Michael
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
  • plates
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • Chine
  • Chine
  • Chine
  • Chine
  • Chine
  • Chine
  • Chine
  • Chine
  • HISTORY
  • POLITICAL SCIENCE
  • Manners and customs
  • Civilization
  • Politics and government
  • Social conditions
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
  • China
Target audience
adult
Label
The story of China : the epic history of a world power from the middle kingdom to Mao and the China dream, Michael Wood
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 542-597) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
  • cri
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
Contents
Prologue: Beijing, December 1899 -- Roots -- The great war of the Shang -- The mandate of Heaven -- The First Emperor and the unification of China -- The Han Empire -- The glory of the Tang -- Decline and fall -- The five dynasties -- The Song renaissance -- The fall of the Northern Song -- The Southern Song, 1127-1279 -- The Yuan: China under the Mongol empire -- The Ming -- The last days of the Ming -- The great Qing: the long eighteenth century -- The opium wars and the Taiping -- The great Chinese revolution, 1850-1950 -- The age of reform: from the Republic to Mao -- The rise of the new China -- Afterword
Control code
1112275435
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First U.S. edition.
Extent
608 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9781250202574
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Note
WorldCat record variable field(s) change: 655
Other physical details
illustrations (some color), maps
System control number
(OCoLC)1112275435
Label
The story of China : the epic history of a world power from the middle kingdom to Mao and the China dream, Michael Wood
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 542-597) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
  • cri
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
Contents
Prologue: Beijing, December 1899 -- Roots -- The great war of the Shang -- The mandate of Heaven -- The First Emperor and the unification of China -- The Han Empire -- The glory of the Tang -- Decline and fall -- The five dynasties -- The Song renaissance -- The fall of the Northern Song -- The Southern Song, 1127-1279 -- The Yuan: China under the Mongol empire -- The Ming -- The last days of the Ming -- The great Qing: the long eighteenth century -- The opium wars and the Taiping -- The great Chinese revolution, 1850-1950 -- The age of reform: from the Republic to Mao -- The rise of the new China -- Afterword
Control code
1112275435
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First U.S. edition.
Extent
608 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9781250202574
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Note
WorldCat record variable field(s) change: 655
Other physical details
illustrations (some color), maps
System control number
(OCoLC)1112275435

Subject

Genre

Library Locations

    • Portland Public LibraryBorrow it
      5 Monument Square, Portland, ME, 04101, US
      43.657680 -70.258550

Library Links

Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Portland Public Library. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.