* Introduction * The Geography of Empire * From Foundation to Rebellion * Warlords and Monopolists * Urban Life * Rural Society * The Outer World * Kinship * Religion * Writing * Conclusion * Dates and Dynasties * Pronunciation Guide * Notes * Bibliography * Acknowledgments * Index
This is an impressive survey history of the Tang dynasty, concise and accessible. China's Cosmopolitan Empire is written so succinctly and clearly that it provides, to my knowledge, the best summary of the Tang period yet available in English. It will make an excellent source for the general student of Chinese or East Asian history. -- David L. McMullen, University of Cambridge
Mark Edward Lewis is Kwoh-Ting Li Professor in Chinese Culture at Stanford University. Timothy Brook is Professor of History and Republic of China Chair at the University of British Columbia.
This is an impressive survey history of the Tang dynasty, concise
and accessible. China's Cosmopolitan Empire is written so
succinctly and clearly that it provides, to my knowledge, the best
summary of the Tang period yet available in English. It will make
an excellent source for the general student of Chinese or East
Asian history.
*David L. McMullen, University of Cambridge*
[A] readable introduction to the Tang Dynasty.
*Choice*
This series on China, brilliantly overseen by Timothy Brook, is a
credit to Harvard University Press. Above all, it encourages us to
think of China in different ways.
*Literary Review*
In China's Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty, Mark Edward Lewis
has done a superb job of synthesizing the scholarship on the Tang
Dynasty (618-907) and rendering it into a readable account.
Professor Lewis's general narrative of Tang history, chapters two
and three of the book, is the best overview of Tang history in any
language, and would be a good starting point for anyone interested
in the dynasty...There is a large corpus of scholarship in English
on Tang dynasty history and culture. China's Cosmopolitan Empire is
an admirable addition to that corpus. It will undoubtedly become
the standard survey in English for the foreseeable future.
*Journal of Military History*
With clarity and rich details, sustained by quotes, anecdotes,
poems, and visual images, Lewis brings to life the vitality of a
transforming China in geography, politics, urban life, rural
society, the outer world, kinship, religion, and writing, all in
comparison with previous times...Lewis's nuanced details of a
changing Tang are direct challenges to the dated but still
influential views of China as an unchanging Sinocentric empire,
uninterested in commerce and foreign contact.
*China Review International*
Lewis' book will be of great interest and utility to general
readers as well as students who are looking for a lucid overview of
Tang history and culture.
*Journal of Asian History*
Mark Edward Lewis has produced an impressive volume on the history
of the Tang dynasty...Its greatest contribution is its integration
of the latest secondary scholarship into interesting arguments
about the evolution of Chinese society between the seventh and
tenth centuries...This book remains an excellent place to see the
latest insights into Tang history. It is a thought-provoking effort
to synthesize that work and reflect on the significance of the Tang
for China's history. If it inspires the next generation of students
to pursue Tang history seriously, Lewis will have made a real
contribution to Tang studies.
*Journal of Asian Studies*
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