Preface
Rana Mitter
Introduction: The Creation of History in China
Naomi Standen
Part I: Images of an Ancient and United Nation
Chapter 1: The Chinese
Peter C. Perdue
Chapter 2: The Great Wall
Peter Lorge
Chapter 3: Foreign Conquerors of China
Naomi Standen
Chapter 4: Confucius: The Key to Understanding China
Tim Barrett
Part II: Cultural Traditions
Chapter 5: The “Decline” of Buddhism in China
Tansen Sen
Chapter 6: Islam in China
Michael Brose
Chapter 7: Chinese Medicine
Bridie Andrews
Chapter 8: Traditional Chinese and the Environment
Ling Zhang
Chapter 9: Chinese Martial Arts
Stanley Henning
Chapter 10: Women in Chinese History
Clara Wing-chung Ho
Part III: Imperial China
Chapter 11: China’s Age of Seafaring
Ruth Mostern
Chapter 12: Civil Service Examinations
Elif Akçetin
Chapter 13: Xinjiang at the Center
Judd Kinzley
Chapter 14: Tibet
Elliot Sperling
Chapter 15: Modern China’s Borders
Andres Rodriguez
Chapter 16: The Opium War and China’s “Century of Humiliation”
Julia Lovell
Part IV: Making Modern China
Chapter 17: Sun Yat-sen
Wasana Wongsurawat
Chapter 18: Republican China under the Nationalists, ca.
1925–1945
Felix Boecking
Chapter 19: The Rise of the Chinese Communist Party
Christian Hess
Chapter 20: Simplified Characters
Imre Galambos
Chapter 21: The One-Child Policy
Barbara Mittler
Chapter 22: The Cultural Revolution, 1966–1976
Marjorie Dryburgh
Chapter 23: China’s Political System
Hai Ren
Chapter 24: Tiananmen 1989
Fabio Lanza
Naomi Standen is professor of medieval history at the University of Birmingham.
Standen and her collaborators have made an outstanding contribution
to the literature on China. Written by prominent authorities but
accessible to nonspecialist readers, Demystifying China demolishes
longstanding popular misconceptions about many key aspects of
Chinese history and culture. A particular strength is that it does
not simply engage in debunking but also explains how and why the
conventional wisdom took shape and even acknowledges the partial
validity of some long-held views. It is ideal reading for
introductory courses in Chinese studies and indeed for anyone
seeking reliable orientation on this increasingly important
subject.
*David A. Graff, Kansas State University; coeditor, Journal of
Chinese Military History*
Outstanding writers fully grounded in current scholarship have
banded together to provide a comprehensive, convincing, yet open
view of the complex problems of Chinese history. The authors
forsake the easy conventions of previous generations to create a
new platform for accessible yet deeply informed discussion of the
past three millennia. Tired and unproven generalizations about
China's technological and scientific development, its engagement
with the sea, the diversities within its culture, and its approach
to modernization will no longer satisfy anybody who has read this
innovative book.
*Pamela Kyle Crossley, Dartmouth College*
This book presents 22 short topical articles, each by a different
scholar, intended to dispel misconceptions that becloud
understanding of China's long history from antiquity to Tiananmen.
Brief, up-to-date suggestions for additional reading appended to
each entry add to the value of this volume. Generally, as one would
expect of the book's distinguished editor, the entries are well
written and authoritative, making this therefore a major resource
for anyone teaching broad survey courses or seeking a summary of
current thinking on a particular vexing issue. Most of the entries
can stand alone, but they are best considered within the context of
Chinese history as a whole. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All
levels/libraries.
*CHOICE*
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