Ancient Chinese History (Volumes 1 and 2) (Illustrated Treasure Edition)

Author: Xia Zengyou
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-03-01
Features: Xia Zengyou's Ancient Chinese History states: "Chinese education was established after Confucius; Chinese governance was implemented after Qin Shi Huang; Chinese territory was consolidated after Emperor Wu of Han. These three are what make China Chinese." This is an unfinished "masterpiece." The work stops at the Sui Dynasty, as the author passed away. Therefore, in the second edition, "Chinese History" was renamed "Ancient Chinese History." This book is widely recognized as "the first successful 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 gradual social evolution. The text is fluent, the narrative concise, and the reasoning and emotions well-balanced. 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 20th-century Chinese historiography." The intense clash between Chinese and Western cultures gave rise to the compilation of "comprehensive Chinese history" in the 20th century. Reflections on the challenges of the 19th century became the driving force behind the creation of new-style "comprehensive Chinese history." People of insight largely agreed that compiling "comprehensive Chinese history" 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 Chinese history" to its peak. Against this backdrop, this book became the "first successful 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 requesting Xia Zengyou to write it. The text is fluent, the narrative concise, and the reasoning and emotions well-balanced, 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 20th-century Chinese historiography." 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.