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A wide-ranging and accessble introduction to more than 2000 years of history in Imperial China.
List of contents
Map A Timeline of the Dynasties of Imperial ChinaIntroduction Before the Imperial Age
Imperial China
Master Kong, the Ru, and Confucius
Language
Conclusion
1 Foundations The Imperial State
Law and Morality in Reality
Conclusion
2 Dynasties Similarities
Differences
The Other Dynasties
Conclusion
3 Borders Geography
Macroregions
Localities
Conclusion
4 War and the Military Military Technology, Society, and Politics
Organization
Guns
Military Thought
Conclusion
5 Discovery The Four Great Inventions
Other Technology
Contact and Exploration
Conclusion
6 Religions Popular Religion
Ruism (Confucianism)
Buddhism
Daoism
Conclusion
7 The Imperial Economy The State
Money
Markets
Conclusion
8 The Arts: Literature, Calligraphy, Painting, and Architecture Literature
Poetry Prose Calligraphy
Painting
Architecture
Conclusion
9 Popular Arts and Culture Decorative Arts
Gardens
Public Performance and Theatre
Popular Literature
Conclusion
10 Constructing China Through History Sima Qian (
c.145/135–
c.86 BCE) and
The Records of the Grand Historian Ban Gu (32–92) and
The History of the Han (
Hanshu)
History Writing in the Tang Dynasty
History Writing in the Song Dynasty
Conclusion
11 The End of Imperial China? Imperial History
Diversity
Unity
Conclusion
Acknowledgments Further Reading Index
About the author
Peter Lorge is Associate Professor of Asian Studies at Vanderbilt University. He is a historian of tenth- and eleventh-century China, with a particular interest in Chinese military, political and social history. His previous books include
Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century and
The Asian Military Revolution.
Summary
A rich, wide-ranging and accessible introduction to over 2,000 years of history
