The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream by Michael Wood
Michael Wood writes a history of China from a western point of view. While the book covers the "long" history of China, the bulk of the time is spent on times where we would most likely no off or be able to see. It feels like it rockets through early history. Once Marco Polo comes to the scene it slows down a bit. Then we start to get into great detail with the opium wars. Mao comes into play in the context of the revolution. He fits well within the imperial narrative as a charismatic leader who made plenty of mistakes that could only be admitted at later times. Modern China is still waffling between canonization and condemnation of Mao. China is a modern country, but its modernity differs from that of Europe.
No comments:
Post a Comment