History of China

This book chronicles the evolution of China from the mists of antiquity to the final days of the empire in 1911. The narrative moves from the emergent states of the Zhou Period, through the unification of contending states by Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor, and then to the significant dynasties of the imperial period, a total of over two thousand years of reliably documented history. Among the most significant topics covered are the social, economic and philosophical developments of the Han Dynasty in which a distinctively Chinese civilization emerged; the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty, seen by many as a golden age; and the later years of the empire during which a strong Chinese Ming Dynasty ruled between the two dynasties of the Mongols and the pastoral societies of the steppe. In conclusion we see the rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty of the Manchus, its fateful encounter with the West, and its eventual collapse which led to the creation of a Republic