China: A New Cultural HistoryColumbia University Press, 2012 - 612 pages An internationally recognized authority on Chinese history and a leading innovator in its telling, Cho-yun Hsu constructs an original portrait of Chinese culture. Unlike most historians, Hsu resists centering his narrative on China's political evolution, focusing instead on the country's cultural sphere and its encounters with successive waves of globalization. Beginning long before China's written history and extending through the twentieth century, Hsu follows the content and expansion of Chinese culture, describing the daily lives of commoners, their spiritual beliefs and practices, the changing character of their social and popular thought, and their advances in material culture and technology. In addition to listing the achievements of emperors, generals, ministers, and sages, Hsu builds detailed accounts of these events and their everyday implications. Dynastic change, the rise and fall of national ambitions, and the growth and decline of institutional systems take on new significance through Hsu's careful research, which captures the multiple strands that gave rise to China's pluralistic society. Paying particular attention to influential relationships occurring outside of Chinese cultural boundaries, he demonstrates the impact of foreign influences on Chinese culture and identity and identifies similarities between China's cultural developments and those of other nations. |
Contents
Authors Preface | 1 |
Prologue | 8 |
2 | 18 |
3 | 71 |
The Second to Tenth Centuries c e | 181 |
5 | 210 |
6 | 300 |
China Enters the World System Part | 329 |
7 | 343 |
The Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries | 412 |
8 | 420 |
1850 to 1950 | 501 |
Afterword | 575 |
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administrative agricultural ancient areas armies became Beijing Buddhism Central Asia century changes Chinese culture Chinese history cities common Confucian Daoism developed early East Eastern economic emperor empire entered China established ethnic groups feudal foreign Fujian gradually Guangdong Han Chinese Han dynasty heaven Hebei Hubei human Hunan imperial included industrial influence Japan Japanese Jiangnan Jurchen Kangxi kingdom Koxinga land later Liao literati Manchu merchants military Ming dynasty modern Mongol mountain Neolithic nese non-Chinese North China North-South dynasties northern officials original people’s political population porcelain prefectures production Qaghan Qing Qing court regions reign religious routes scholars schools Shang Shanxi Sichuan silk social society Song southern steppes Taiwan Tang territory thousand tion trade traditional troops Wang Warring States period Western Xiongnu Yangzi Yellow River Yuan dynasty Zhang Zheng Zheng Zhilong Zhou