China : five thousand years of history and civilization

Written with precision and flair by a host of leading academics from Beijing and Hong Kong, this single volume is a welcome addition to the study of world civilizations, a broad yet detailed chronological sweep through time. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Foreword Part I: History The Prehistoric Society of China Ancient China China from the Qin Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty China During the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties Part II: Culture and Art The Chinese Language and Chinese Characters The Art of Ancient China The Book of Change The Book of Poetry The Chuci Poetry The Confucian School in the Pre-Qin Period The Taoist School in the Pre-Qin Period The Legalist School in the Pre-Qin Period Sunzi--The Art of War The Records of the Historian and the History of the Former Han Dynasty Science in the Han Dynasty Metaphysics During the Wei and Jin Dynasties The Emergence and Development of the Taoist Religion Chinese Buddhism and Zen The Silk Road The Shi-Poetry of the Tang Dynasty Ancient Music and Dance The Art of Sculpture The Art of Calligraphy Schools and Imperial Civil Service Examinations The Development of the Four Great Inventions in the Song Dynasty Chinese Porcelain and the Maritime Transportation and Trade Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties The Ci-Poetry of the Song Dynasty The Yuan Qu-Poetry The Introduction of Christianity and Islam into China and the Cultural Exchange Novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasties Chinese Ink-Wash Painting The Art of Chinese Gardening Kunqu Opera and Beijing Opera Back Cover Offers a chronicle of Chinese civilization that furnishes general readers and scholars alike with an authoritative overview of Chinese history, art and culture, from the pre-historic era to the early twentieth century, touching upon recurring themes and developments and synthesizing more than five thousand years of evolution and transition.