China Marches West

China Marches West
Author: Peter C Perdue
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 748
Release: 2009-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674042026

From about 1600 to 1800, the Qing empire of China expanded to unprecedented size. Through astute diplomacy, economic investment, and a series of ambitious military campaigns into the heart of Central Eurasia, the Manchu rulers defeated the Zunghar Mongols, and brought all of modern Xinjiang and Mongolia under their control, while gaining dominant influence in Tibet. The China we know is a product of these vast conquests. Peter C. Perdue chronicles this little-known story of China's expansion into the northwestern frontier. Unlike previous Chinese dynasties, the Qing achieved lasting domination over the eastern half of the Eurasian continent. Rulers used forcible repression when faced with resistance, but also aimed to win over subject peoples by peaceful means. They invested heavily in the economic and administrative development of the frontier, promoted trade networks, and adapted ceremonies to the distinct regional cultures. Perdue thus illuminates how China came to rule Central Eurasia and how it justifies that control, what holds the Chinese nation together, and how its relations with the Islamic world and Mongolia developed. He offers valuable comparisons to other colonial empires and discusses the legacy left by China's frontier expansion. The Beijing government today faces unrest on its frontiers from peoples who reject its autocratic rule. At the same time, China has launched an ambitious development program in its interior that in many ways echoes the old Qing policies. China Marches West is a tour de force that will fundamentally alter the way we understand Central Eurasia.

China and the West to 1600

China and the West to 1600
Author: Steven Wallech
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2016-03-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1118880064

A comparative history of Chinese and Western Civilization from the dawn of agriculture to the dawn of modernity in Europe, China and the West to 1600 explores the factors that led to the divergent evolution of two major cultures of the ancient world, and considers how the subsequent developments saw one culture cling to tradition even as the other failed to do so, inadvertently setting the stage for the birth of the Modern Era. An accessible and inventive comparative history, suitable for all students at the college level as well as general readers Compares the history of Chinese civilization with Western civilization from the rise of agriculture to the dawn of the modern period Explores the ways in which Western failures in the Middle Ages after the Roman Empire’s collapse, and China’s successes in the same period, laid the groundwork for each culture’s divergent path in the modern period Makes meaningful connections between cultures and over time, through the use of themes such as agriculture, philosophy, religion, and warfare and invasion Bridges the gap between antiquity and modernity, looking at many factors of the global Middle Ages that influenced the development of the modern world Features a timeline, maps, endnotes, and complete index

Silk Thread

Silk Thread
Author: Tristan Mostert
Publisher:
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2015
Genre: Art, Chinese
ISBN: 9789460042508

ilk Thread uses objects from the Rijksmuseum collection to explore the shared history of China and the Netherlands from 1600 to the present. This book pays lavish attention both to the intensive efforts of Dutch traders to reach China and establish a trading post, and to the Dutch peoples fascination with Chinese goods. The products of the encounter the silk, porcelain and lacquerware, the travelogues and atlases defined perceptions of China in the Netherlands and far beyond. In the same period, the Netherlands gained a small but significant place in Chinese consciousness. The often-turbulent relationship between China and the West forms an intriguing contrast to the enduring Dutch interest in China and the magnificent objects emanating from it. Tristan Mostert is a historian specializing in Dutch overseas history in the early modern period. A former junior curator in the History department of the Rijksmuseum, he is currently working on a doctoral thesis at Leiden University. Jan van Campen is the Rijksmuseums Curator of Asian Export Art, a position he has held since 2001. His areas of special interest are Chinese porcelain and the history of Asian art collecting in Europe. Silk Thread is part of the Country Series published by the Rijksmuseums History department. Each book in the series uses objects in the Rijksmuseum collection to explore the shared history of the Netherlands and one of the following countries: Indonesia, Japan, China, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Ghana, Suriname and Brazil.

Southwest China in a Regional and Global Perspective (c.1600-1911)

Southwest China in a Regional and Global Perspective (c.1600-1911)
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2018-01-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004353712

The book Southwest China in Regional and Global Perspectives (c. 1600-1911) is dedicated to important issues in society, trade, and local policy in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan during the late phase of the Qing period. It combines the methods of various disciplines to bring more light into the neglected history of a region that witnessed a faster population growth than any other region in China during that age. The contributions to the volume analyse conflicts and arrangements in immigrant societies, problems of environmental change, the economic significance of copper as the most important “export” product, topographical and legal obstacles in trade and transport, specific problems in inter-regional trade, and the roots of modern transnational enterprise.

Warfare in China to 1600

Warfare in China to 1600
Author: Peter Lorge
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 575
Release: 2017-05-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1351873792

Chinese military history has emerged as one of the most promising and radical fields of Chinese studies. China's rapidly increasing military power make understanding the place of war in Chinese culture, as well as the role of the military, and Chinese strategic thought, vital to dealing with this possible threat. The recent flourishing of scholarship in this area has begun to allow an equivalent comparison with western and world military history, leading to a new understanding of war as a historical and cultural phenomenon, as well as revising earlier analyses of the significance of war in Chinese history. Assembled in this volume is a selection of articles that present earlier approaches to Chinese military history as well as the most recent trends in research. The introductory essay provides an overview of the field of Chinese military history and its significance in the study of China, as well as pointing out encouraging new developments in recent scholarship.

The Rise of the Chinese Empire: Nation, state, & imperialism in early China, ca. 1600 B.C.-A.D. 8

The Rise of the Chinese Empire: Nation, state, & imperialism in early China, ca. 1600 B.C.-A.D. 8
Author: Chun-shu Chang
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 516
Release: 2007
Genre: China
ISBN: 9780472115334

The second and first centuries B.C. were a critical period in Chinese history—they saw the birth and development of the new Chinese empire and its earliest expansion and acquisition of frontier territories. But for almost two thousand years, because of gaps in the available records, this essential chapter in the history was missing. Fortunately, with the discovery during the last century of about sixty thousand Han-period documents in Central Asia and western China preserved on strips of wood and bamboo, scholars have been able, for the first time, to put together many of the missing pieces. In this first volume of his monumental history, Chun-shu Chang uses these newfound documents to analyze the ways in which political, institutional, social, economic, military, religious, and thought systems developed and changed in the critical period from early China to the Han empire (ca. 1600 B.C. – A.D. 220). In addition to exploring the formation and growth of the Chinese empire and its impact on early nation-building and later territorial expansion, Chang also provides insights into the life and character of critical historical figures such as the First Emperor (221– 210 B.C.) of the Ch’in and Wu-ti (141– 87 B.C.) of the Han, who were the principal agents in redefining China and its relationships with other parts of Asia. As never before, Chang’s study enables an understanding of the origins and development of the concepts of state, nation, nationalism, imperialism, ethnicity, and Chineseness in ancient and early Imperial China, offering the first systematic reconstruction of the history of Chinese acquisition and colonization. Chun-shu Changis Professor of History at the University of Michigan and is the author, with Shelley Hsueh-lun Chang, ofCrisis and Transformation in Seventeenth-Century ChinaandRedefining History: Ghosts, Spirits, and Human Society in P’u Sung-ling’s World, 1640–1715. “An extraordinary survey of the political and administrative history of early imperial China, which makes available a body of evidence and scholarship otherwise inaccessible to English-readers. The underpinning of research is truly stupendous.” —Ray Van Dam, Professor, Department of History, University of Michigan “Powerfully argues from literary and archaeological records that empire, modeled on Han paradigms, has largely defined Chinese civilization ever since.” —Joanna Waley-Cohen, Professor, Department of History, New York University

The Search for Modern China

The Search for Modern China
Author: Jonathan D. Spence
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 1054
Release: 1990
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780393307801

In this widely acclaimed history of modern China, Jonathan Spence achieves a fine blend of narrative richness and efficiency. The Search for Modern China offers a matchless introduction to China's history.

Lost Colony

Lost Colony
Author: Tonio Andrade
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 447
Release: 2013-08-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 0691159572

How a Chinese pirate defeated European colonialists and won Taiwan during the seventeenth century During the seventeenth century, Holland created the world's most dynamic colonial empire, outcompeting the British and capturing Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Yet, in the Sino-Dutch War—Europe's first war with China—the Dutch met their match in a colorful Chinese warlord named Koxinga. Part samurai, part pirate, he led his generals to victory over the Dutch and captured one of their largest and richest colonies—Taiwan. How did he do it? Examining the strengths and weaknesses of European and Chinese military techniques during the period, Lost Colony provides a balanced new perspective on long-held assumptions about Western power, Chinese might, and the nature of war. It has traditionally been asserted that Europeans of the era possessed more advanced science, technology, and political structures than their Eastern counterparts, but historians have recently contested this view, arguing that many parts of Asia developed on pace with Europe until 1800. While Lost Colony shows that the Dutch did indeed possess a technological edge thanks to the Renaissance fort and the broadside sailing ship, that edge was neutralized by the formidable Chinese military leadership. Thanks to a rich heritage of ancient war wisdom, Koxinga and his generals outfoxed the Dutch at every turn. Exploring a period when the military balance between Europe and China was closer than at any other point in modern history, Lost Colony reassesses an important chapter in world history and offers valuable and surprising lessons for contemporary times.

The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500-1800

The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500-1800
Author: David Emil Mungello
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 0742557979

For the Chinese, the drive toward growing political and economic power is part of an ongoing effort to restore China's past greatness and remove the lingering memories of history's humiliations. This widely praised book explores the 1500-1800 period before China's decline, when the country was viewed as a leading world culture and power. D.E. Mungello argues that this earlier era, ironically, may contain more relevance for today than the more recent past. This fully revised fourth edition retains the clear and concise quality of its predecessors, while drawing on a wealth of.

Wealth and Power

Wealth and Power
Author: Orville Schell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2013
Genre: China
ISBN: 0679643478

Two leading experts on China evaluate its rise throughout the past one hundred fifty years, sharing portraits of key intellectual and political leaders to explain how China transformed from a country under foreign assault to a world giant.