Ancient Chinese History

Author: Xia Zengyou
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-03-01
Features: Xia Zengyou's Ancient Chinese History states: "China's teachings were established after Confucius; China's governance was implemented after Qin Shi Huang; China's territory was consolidated after Emperor Wu of Han. These three are what make China China." This is an unfinished "masterpiece." The work stopped at the Sui Dynasty, and the author passed away. Therefore, in the second edition, "Chinese History" was renamed "Ancient Chinese History." This book is widely recognized as "the first new-style comprehensive history of China." The entire work comprehensively organizes the development and stages of Chinese history from the perspective of Western "theory of evolution." "Chinese history" is no longer just a simple chronicle of dynasties and emperors, but rather a "holistic history" of the gradual evolution of society. The text is fluent, the narrative concise, and it balances emotion and reason. Scholars praised it as "the best at the time, surpassing the works of Liu Shipei, Liu Yiyi, and other teachers at the Capital University." The book is hailed as a "masterpiece of Chinese historiography in the 20th century." The intense clash between Chinese and Western cultures gave rise to the compilation of "comprehensive histories of China" in the 20th century. Reflections on the challenges of the 19th century became the driving force behind the creation of new-style "comprehensive histories of China." Many insightful individuals agreed that compiling "comprehensive histories of China" was a way to conduct a pathological examination of the existing social system and cultural thought. "Theory of evolution" and "materialist conception of history" became the two levers of the entire "new historiography." The reform of the late Qing educational system and the need for curriculum innovation further pushed the compilation of new-style "comprehensive histories of China" to its peak. Against this backdrop, this book became the "first renowned work of new-style comprehensive Chinese history in the 20th century." This book was commissioned by Zhang Yuanji when he first established the Translation and Compilation Institute, specifically for Xia Zengyou to write. The text is fluent, the narrative concise, and it balances emotion and reason, earning praise from scholars as "the best at the time, surpassing the works of Liu Shipei, Liu Yiyi, and other teachers at the Capital University." The book is hailed as a "masterpiece of Chinese historiography in the 20th century."
Recommended for the following readers: scholars or enthusiasts of Chinese history, scholars or enthusiasts of comparative history, inheritors or critics of Chinese culture, scholars or sympathizers of the modern fate of China, and high school and university students.