100 Events That Affected China (Revised Complete Edition)

Author: Zhang Xiuping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The "China 100 Series" is a unique read different from general historical works. It takes the figures, events, wars, works, and cultures in Chinese history as threads, narrating 100 individuals who contributed to the development of invention, academic culture, and Sino-foreign relations in the course of Chinese history; 100 events that occurred during the transitions of dynasties, conflicts among academic schools, sectarian struggles in religious history, and major historical turning points; 100 wars fought for unity, justice, hegemony, or power; 100 classic works that meticulously and systematically record the history of Chinese science and culture over thousands of years; and 100 brilliant academic, literary, folk, and material cultures that stand tall among the world's civilizations. In the long river of Chinese history, our ancestors have created countless cultural treasures, staged countless grand military dramas, witnessed countless earth-shaking historical events, produced thousands of creative and diverse figures, and left behind vast and invaluable historical and cultural classics. This "Series" selects these figures, events, wars, works, and cultures, all limited to "100," merely to highlight their special roles and impacts in the development of Chinese history. Although this limited "100-item" series is but a drop in the ocean compared to the boundless reality of Chinese history, it represents a new pursuit and attempt to introduce knowledge of Chinese history. Through it, readers can learn about the wisdom and charisma of influential political leaders, thinkers, writers, military strategists, and diplomats in Chinese history; uncover the truth and behind-the-scenes of complex historical events; understand the fierce struggles of wars and the essence of the formation of spiritual and cultural history. "At the peak of writing, there is no need for extraordinary tricks," summarizing thousands of years of Chinese history through five major themes—people, events, wars, works, and culture—is both concise and to the point, catering to contemporary readers' interests in reading and understanding history. This is the very purpose of the "China 100 Series." War is the most famous event of bloodshed; works are the carriers of cultural crystallizations. In The 100 Most Influential Events in China, there are both famous events during the transitions of feudal dynasties, such as the Shang Tang's conquest of Xia, the division of Jin into three states, the Chu-Han contention, the establishment of the Three Kingdoms, the reunification of the Three Kingdoms under Western Jin, the unification of northern China by Northern Wei, the reunification of the north and south by Emperor Wen of Sui, the coup at Chenqiao, and the Jingkang Incident; and academic school conflicts, such as the Hundred Schools of Thought, the suppression of the Hundred Schools, the exclusive promotion of Confucianism, and the White Tiger Pavilion Conference. There are also sectarian disputes in religious history, such as the burning of books and burying scholars, the suppression of Buddhism by Cao Cao, the debate over the immortality of the soul, and the controversy over the annihilation of the soul; as well as political and economic reforms and improvements, such as the Shang Yang Reforms, the Salt and Iron Conference, the reforms of Emperor Wen of Sui, the Yongzhen Reforms, the Wang Anshi Reforms, the Zhang Juzheng Reforms, and the Self-Strengthening Movement. There are also struggles between progress and conservatism, such as the Wang Mang reforms, the Qinding New Policies and factional struggles, Yuan Shikai's restoration of the monarchy, the Wuchen Rebellion, the Eight Princes' Rebellion, the An-Shi Rebellion, and the regional autonomy; as well as struggles between unification and division, such as Qin Shi Huang's unification of China, Genghis Khan's unification of Mongolia, Emperor Kangxi's abolition of fiefdoms and suppression of the Three Fiefdoms Rebellion. There are also grand peasant movements, such as the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang Uprising, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the great uprisings of the ethnic groups of Northern Wei, the peasant uprisings at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Huang Chao Rebellion, and the Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun Rebellion. These major historical events either established new dynasties and unified the realm, overthrew old systems and liberated productive forces, resisted foreign invasion and national oppression, or carried out political reforms and improvements, and so on. Some are moving and inspiring, while others are complex and thought-provoking. Today's China is the development of historical China. From these major historical events, we can draw lessons and gain insights.