A History of Chinese Civilization

by Jacques Gernet

Book Overview

Written with an elegant and flowing narrative, the essential virtue of Jacques Gernet's classic book is to see the history of Chinese civilization as a whole. Yet within the synthesis of the trends -... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521497817
• ISBN13: 9780521497817
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 832 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Transaction

This transaction saved me $$, as this college school book was needed quickly for summer school. Received promptly and well packaged. A pleasant buying experience. I would recommend this seller.

Question about editions

Is anyone familiar with the difference between the 1982 edition and the newer revised edition? I know the transliteration has been updated to pinyin, and that there is a longer bibliography, but have there been any substantive changes in the translation of the text?

Has its strengths and weaknesses, but look at the price!

If you compare this book to its obvious competitors (e.g. Valerie Hansen's Open Empire, Schirokauer's Brief History of Chinese Civilization), you have to be amazed at the relatively low list price--especially considering that the publisher, Cambridge University Press, is not famous for selling cheap books. If you can buy only one textbook history of China, this one is worth considering for that reason alone.Students tend to have the same complaints about Gernet's book year after year (I've used this book many times in an undergraduate survey of Chinese history): it is too long and confusing, without emphasizing what is "important" and what isn't. Other reviewers on this page have similar concerns: the book isn't organized emperor-by-emperor; rather, it tends to focus topically on themes that cover several emperors' reigns, sometimes whole centuries. But weigh that against the major criticism of the book by professional historians, who argue, on the contrary, that the book is arranged only too rigidly according to a periodization imposed from Western history (ancient, medieval, modern, etc.). There isn't enough space here to get involved in these theoretical issues, but it should be clear that Gernet is to be lauded, not derided, for his courage to depart from the old fashioned year-by-year, emperor-by-emperor approach.This is especially evident in his section on the Six Dynasties (or Northern and Southern Dynasties), which is probably the best succinct account of the period in any Western language. Instead of tediously relating events and dates for this chaotic period, Gernet reveals the underlying socioeconomic forces that dictated the pattern of history in the north and south over the course of this long and complex period. (He happens to be one of the foremost economic historians of China, and is clearly in his element with this kind of historiography.) I believe readers come away with a richer understanding of the Six Dynasties because of Gernet's focus.Finally, the complaints about Wade-Giles Romanization are unfair and uninformed. When this book first appeared, before the Library of Congress and other major libraries switched to Pinyin, virtually all Chinese books were catalogued according to Wade-Giles, so it made much more sense to write a textbook using that Romanization system than Pinyin. Today, of course, Pinyin would be preferable. But it's not the case that Pinyin is more precise. Both are acceptable Romanization schemes for Mandarin Chinese, and both--assuming one has mastered the principles--indicate the correct sounds efficiently and unambiguously. Criticizing a book about China on the basis of its Romanization system is a bit like judging a book by its cover.

My favorite one-volume Chinese history

This book gives better depth to Chinese history than Spence or Fairbank do. Spence is more concerned with the last 200 years, and Fairbank is too closely tied to the US foreign policy establishment for my tastes. The fact that Gernet is on page 462 of 655 before he starts writing about the Manchus is a good thing. He covers art and economics, politics and religion, with a refreshing equanimity. It would be interesting to hear how well written it is in French, but the English is fine. While clearly Western, Gernet's French persective is a welcome change of pace to these American's eyes.

the classic manual in china history

the author is well known among the french sinologists, and this book was well received by the entire sinologist-world in france. this book can be used by everybody who has interest in chinese civilisation.