Download or read book Splendors of a Golden Era in China written by Changjun Dong and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Tang Dynasty (618-907) was a golden era in Chinese history. Rooted in its political strength and economic prosperity, the splendor of its culture makes its influence felt even today. Owing to its open-door policy, it assimilated the essence of many foreign cultures in order to enrich itself, thereby growing to become the most civilized country in the world at the time. The capital Chang'an was a global metropolis. This book is an overview of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, including its literature, calligraphy, painting, dancing, arts and crafts, fashion and architecture, all of which have had a formative influence on Chinese culture.
Download or read book China s Golden Age written by Charles D. Benn and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2004 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this fascinating and detailed profile, Benn paints a vivid picture of life in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), traditionally regarded as the golden age of China. 40 line illustrations.
Download or read book Splendors of China s Forbidden City written by Chuimei Ho and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering an unprecedented insight into one of the most glittering courts in history, this sumptuous book brings together some China's priceless national treasures, housed in Beijing's royal palace complex, the Forbidden City, and collected by Emperor Qianlong during his sixty-year reign from 1736 to 1795.
Download or read book Imperial Twilight written by Stephen R. Platt and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As China reclaims its position as a world power, Imperial Twilight looks back to tell the story of the country’s last age of ascendance and how it came to an end in the nineteenth-century Opium War. As one of the most potent turning points in the country’s modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today’s China seeks to put behind it. In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to “open” China even as China’s imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country’s decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China’s advantage. The book paints an enduring portrait of an immensely profitable—and mostly peaceful—meeting of civilizations that was destined to be shattered by one of the most shockingly unjust wars in the annals of imperial history. Brimming with a fascinating cast of British, Chinese, and American characters, this riveting narrative of relations between China and the West has important implications for today’s uncertain and ever-changing political climate.
Download or read book Shanghai Splendor written by Wen-hsin Yeh and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What a fine and illuminating book! Shanghai Splendor is an important and captivating work of scholarship."—David Strand, author of Rickshaw Beijing: City People and Politics in the 1920s "This in an outstanding work. Although Shanghai has been among the most popular subjects for scholars in modern Chinese studies, one has yet to see a project as impressive as this. Yeh tells a most fascinating story."—David Der-wei Wang, author of The Monster That Is History: History, Violence, and Fictional Writing in 20th Century China
Download or read book China written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Caliph s Splendor written by Benson Bobrick and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-08-14 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Caliph’s Splendor is a revelation: a history of a civilization we barely know that had a profound effect on our own culture. While the West declined following the collapse of the Roman Empire, a new Arab civilization arose to the east, reaching an early peak in Baghdad under the caliph Harun al-Rashid. Harun is the legendary caliph of The Thousand and One Nights, but his actual court was nearly as magnificent as the fictional one. In The Caliph’s Splendor, Benson Bobrick eloquently tells the little-known and remarkable story of Harun’s rise to power and his rivalries with the neighboring Byzantines and the new Frankish kingdom under the leadership of Charlemagne. When Harun came to power, Islam stretched from the Atlantic to India. The Islamic empire was the mightiest on earth and the largest ever seen. Although Islam spread largely through war, its cultural achievements were immense. Harun’s court at Baghdad outshone the independent Islamic emirate in Spain and all the courts of Europe, for that matter. In Baghdad, great works from Greece and Rome were preserved and studied, and new learning enhanced civilization. Over the following centuries Arab and Persian civilizations made a lasting impact on the West in astronomy, geometry, algebra (an Arabic word), medicine, and chemistry, among other fields of science. The alchemy (another Arabic word) of the Middle Ages originated with the Arabs. From engineering to jewelry to fashion to weaponry, Arab influences would shape life in the West, as they did in the fields of law, music, and literature. But for centuries Arabs and Byzantines contended fiercely on land and sea. Bobrick tells how Harun defeated attempts by the Byzantines to advance into Asia at his expense. He contemplated an alliance with the much weaker Charlemagne in order to contain the Byzantines, and in time Arabs and Byzantines reached an accommodation that permitted both to prosper. Harun’s caliphate would weaken from within as his two sons quarreled and formed factions; eventually Arabs would give way to Turks in the Islamic empire. Empires rise, weaken, and fall, but during its golden age, the caliphate of Baghdad made a permanent contribution to civilization, as Benson Bobrick so splendidly reminds us.
Download or read book China under the Empress Dowager Being the history of the life and times of Tz Hsi written by J. O. P. Bland and published by Prabhat Prakashan. This book was released on 2024-07-01 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to the intriguing world of "China under the Empress Dowager: Being the History of the Life and Times of Tzŭ Hsi" by J. O. P. Bland and Sir E. Backhouse, a vivid portrayal of one of the most influential figures in Chinese history. Explore the captivating story of Empress Dowager Tzŭ Hsi, a woman of immense power and influence who ruled China for nearly half a century. Bland and Backhouse's meticulously researched narrative takes readers on a journey through the tumultuous era of late Qing dynasty China, revealing the complex political intrigues, cultural shifts, and historical events that shaped her reign. Delve into the character analysis of Empress Dowager Tzŭ Hsi, a formidable yet enigmatic figure whose decisions impacted the course of Chinese history. The authors illuminate her role in navigating China through internal strife, foreign encroachment, and the challenges of modernization, offering profound insights into her leadership style and legacy. Through rich historical detail and vivid storytelling, Bland and Backhouse capture the overall tone and mood of late 19th and early 20th-century China, painting a comprehensive portrait of a nation in transition. Their narrative skillfully intertwines the personal and political, providing a nuanced perspective on Tzŭ Hsi's life and the era she dominated. "China under the Empress Dowager" has garnered critical acclaim for its scholarly rigor and compelling narrative. It appeals to readers interested in Chinese history, gender studies, and the influence of powerful women in shaping global events. Whether you're a historian, a student of Asian studies, or simply curious about the life of one of China's most controversial figures, Bland and Backhouse's account offers a fascinating exploration of power, politics, and culture in late imperial China. Order your copy today and immerse yourself in the life and times of Empress Dowager Tzŭ Hsi. Don't miss this opportunity to uncover the secrets of China's last Empress Dowager. Bland and Backhouse's compelling narrative will transport you to a bygone era of imperial splendor and political intrigue.
Download or read book Fin de Si cle Splendor written by Dewei Wang and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reigning view of literary historians has been that the May Fourth movement of 1919 marks the division between the traditional and the modern in Chinese literature. This book argues that signs of reform and innovation can be discerned long before May Fourth, and that as China entered the arena of modern, international history in the late Qing, it was already developing its own complex matrix of incipient modernities. It demonstrates that late Qing fiction nurtured a creative, innovative poetics, one that was spurned by the reformers of the May Fourth generation in favor of Western-style realism. The author recognizes that a full account of modern Chinese fiction needs to ask why so many genres, styles, themes, and figures found in late imperial fiction were repressed by "modern" Chinese literary discourse. He focuses on four genres of late Qing fiction that have been either rudely dismissed in pejorative terms or simply ignored: depravity romances, court-case and chivalric cycles, grotesque exposés, and scientific fantasies. The author shows that in spite of the realist orthodoxy that has dominated Chinese literature since the May Fourth movement, these unwelcome genres have continually found their way back into mainstream discourse, their influence being increasingly evident in recent decades. This first comprehensive study of late Qing fiction discusses more than sixty works, at least half of which have rarely or never been dealt with by Western or Chinese scholars. Richly informed by contemporary literary theory, this book constitutes a polemical rethinking of the nature of Chinese literary and cultural modernity.
Download or read book Kingly Splendor written by Allison R. Miller and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-01 with total page 655 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Western Han dynasty (202 BCE–9 CE) was a foundational period for the artistic culture of ancient China, a fact particularly visible in the era’s funerary art. Iconic forms of Chinese art such as dazzling suits of jade; cavernous, rock-cut mountain tombs; fancifully ornate wall paintings; and armies of miniature terracotta warriors were prepared for the tombs of the elite during this period. Many of the finest objects of the Western Han have been excavated from the tombs of kings, who administered local provinces on behalf of the emperors. Allison R. Miller paints a new picture of elite art production by revealing the contributions of the kings to Western Han artistic culture. She demonstrates that the kings were not mere imitators of the imperial court but rather innovators, employing local materials and workshops and experimenting with new techniques to challenge the artistic hegemony of the imperial house. Tombs and funerary art, Miller contends, functioned as an important vehicle of political expression as kings strove to persuade the population and other elites of their legitimacy. Through case studies of five genres of royal art, Miller argues that the political structure of the early Western Han, with the emperor as one ruler among peers, benefited artistic production and innovation. Kingly Splendor brings together close readings of funerary art and architecture with nuanced analyses of political and institutional dynamics to provide an interdisciplinary revisionist history of the early Western Han.
Download or read book The Golden Age of the Chinese Bourgeoisie 1911 1937 written by Marie-Claire Bergère and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study explores the astonishing growth of Western-style industry in Shanghai.
Download or read book Making China Modern written by Klaus Mühlhahn and published by Belknap Press. This book was released on 2019-01-14 with total page 737 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Thoughtful, probing...a worthy successor to the famous histories of Fairbank and Spence [that] will be read by all students and scholars of modern China.” —William C. Kirby, coauthor of Can China Lead? It is tempting to attribute the rise of China to Deng Xiaoping and to recent changes in economic policy. But China has a long history of creative adaptation. In the eighteenth century, the Qing Empire dominated a third of the world’s population. Then, as the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion ripped the country apart, China found itself verging on free fall. More recently, after Mao, China managed a surprising recovery, rapidly undergoing profound economic and social change. A dynamic story of crisis and recovery, failure and triumph, Making China Modern explores the versatility and resourcefulness that guaranteed China’s survival, powered its rise, and will determine its future. “Chronicles reforms, revolutions, and wars through the lens of institutions, often rebutting Western impressions.” —New Yorker “A remarkable accomplishment. Unlike an earlier generation of scholarship, Making China Modern does not treat China’s contemporary transformation as a postscript. It accepts China as a major and active player in the world, places China at the center of an interconnected and global network of engagement, links domestic politics to international dynamics, and seeks to approach China on its own terms.” —Wen-hsin Yeh, author of Shanghai Splendor
Download or read book Souvenir China written by Laurence W. Williams and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book China under the Empress Dowager Being the history of the life and times of Tz Hsi written by J. O. P. Bland and published by Prabhat Prakashan. This book was released on 2024-07-29 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China Under the Empress Dowager: Being the History of the Life and Times of Tzŭ Hsi by J. O. P. Bland and Sir E. Backhouse offers a comprehensive and detailed account of one of the most influential figures in late Qing Dynasty China. Published in 1911, this historical work provides an in-depth look at the life and reign of Empress Dowager Cixi, a key player in China's political and social landscape during a period of profound transformation. The book meticulously chronicles Cixi’s rise to power, her role in governing China, and her impact on both domestic and foreign affairs. Through extensive research and firsthand accounts, Bland and Backhouse paint a vivid portrait of Cixi, exploring her political maneuvers, reforms, and the challenges she faced in managing a nation on the brink of modernity. China Under the Empress Dowager is notable for its detailed narrative and critical analysis of Cixi’s leadership. It examines her influence on the Qing Dynasty, her interactions with foreign powers, and the internal strife that characterized her era. The authors’ insights into Cixi’s personal and political life provide readers with a nuanced understanding of her legacy and the complexities of her reign. This book is an essential resource for those interested in Chinese history, particularly the late Qing period, and for readers seeking to understand the significant role of Empress Dowager Cixi in shaping modern China. China Under the Empress Dowager stands out for its historical depth and its contribution to the study of one of China’s most powerful and enigmatic figures.
Download or read book Zhipan s Account of the History of Buddhism in China written by Thomas Jülch and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-09-14 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Fozu tongji by Zhipan (ca. 1220–1275) is a key text of Chinese Buddhist historiography. The core of the work is formed by the “Fayun tongsai zhi,” an annalistic history of Buddhism in China, which extends through Fozu tongji, juan 34–48. Thomas Jülch now presents a translation of the “Fayun tongsai zhi” in three volumes. This third volume covers the annalistic display concerning the Song dynasty. Offering elaborate annotations, Jülch succeeds in clarifying the backgrounds to the historiographic contents, which Zhipan presents in highly essentialized style. Regarding the historical matters addressed in the material translated for the present volume, the Fozu tongji is often the earliest source. In several cases, inaccuracies in Zhipan’s account can however still be discerned, and Jülch succeeds in employing other sources to reveal and correct those errors.
Download or read book Gilded Splendor written by Hsueh-man Shen and published by 5Continents. This book was released on 2006 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first major volume to explore one of China's most influential yet little known dynasties which brings to life one of China's forgotten empires and its unique culture.
Download or read book Empress written by Shan Sa and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-06 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Such is the voice of Shan Sa's unforgettable heroine in her latest literary masterpiece, Empress. Empress Wu, one of China's most controversial figures, was its first and only female emperor, who emerged in the seventh century during the great Tang Dynasty and ushered in a golden age. Throughout history, her name has been defamed and her story distorted by those taking vengeance on a woman who dared to become emperor. But now, for the first time in thirteen centuries, Empress Wu (or Heavenlight, as we come to know her) flings open the gates of the Forbidden City and tells her own astonishing tale—revealing a fascinating, complex figure who in many ways remains modern to this day. Writing with epic assurance, poetry, and vivid historic detail, Shan Sa plumbs the psychological and philosophical depths of what it means to be a striving mortal in a tumultuous, power-hungry world. Empress is a great literary feat and a revelation for the ages.
