China Through The Ages: History Of A Civilization / Edition 1

by Franz Michael

Overview

Past studies of China have concentrated on specific events or have related a chronological history of the dynastic periods. Although they have included aspects of cultural history, these works have underemphasized the country's great social, political, and intellectual movements and their ultimate expression in the art and literature of the time. By focusing on these themes, Professor Michael provides a new framework for understanding the Chinese cultural tradition.The author describes the evolving history of ideas in China, from ancient faith in powerful magic to more modern concepts of a logical moral order of the universe and mankind's place in it. He also explores the intellectual ferment following the dawn of the age of reason, the integration of Buddhism into the Confucian social order, and the social transformations accompanying the rise and fall of the centralized state. Throughout, he illustrates how the changing society's beliefs, values, and aesthetic sense were embodied in its art and literature. This portrayal of the Chinese cultural tradition not only puts Chinese history in a new perspective, it illuminates the process through which China constructed a modern society from a non-Western foundation and serves as an essential tool for understanding modern-day China and its prospects for the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865317260
Publisher:	Avalon Publishing
Publication date:	10/01/1986
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	278
Product dimensions:	0.72(w) x 6.00(h) x 9.00(d)
Lexile:	1460L (what's this?)

About the Author

Franz Michael is professor emeritus at George Washington University, where he was associate director and director of the Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies from 1964 to 1972. Dr. Michael's publications include Rule by Incarnation: Tibetan Buddhism and Its Role in Society and State (Westview).

Table of Contents

1. Beginnings: The Geographical Setting 2. The Age of Magic: Legend and Archaeology 3. The Age of Magic: The Shang Dynasty 4. The Age of Reason: The Chou Dynasty 5. Intellectual Revolution: A Hundred Schools of Thought 6. The Unified Empire 7. The Empire Consolidated: The Han Dynasty 8. The Coming of Buddhism 9. Reunification: The Sui and T'ang Dynasties 10. A Chinese Renaissance: The Sung Dynasty 11. The Mongol Empire 12. Chinese Restoration: The Ming Dynasty 13. The Last of the Imperial Order: The Manchu or Ch'ing Dynasty 14. From Empire to Nation, State: The Great Rebellion, Reform, and Revolution 15. The Nationalists 16. Communism Under Mao 17. The Post-Mao Experiment 18. Conclusion