People Who Shaped China: Stories from the history of the Middle Kingdom

by New Epoch Weekly

Overview

When President Donald Trump visited Beijing, he showed a video of his granddaughter Arabella Kushner speaking Mandarin to the Chinese leader. The two-minute clip went viral on the internet, and Arabella became a minor celebrity among Chinese viewers.

Like Ms. Kushner, more and more people are learning Chinese as China re-emerges as a great power with global influence. Yet for the majority of westerners, China remains a very foreign country, and the Chinese a perplexing people.

Seen from a historical vantage point, China is a very unique nation. It has been said that American history is

divided into decades, European history into centuries, and Chinese history into millennia. For the last 3,000 years, China is the only country in the world that has kept unbroken historical records. People and events of the distant past fill the memories of the Chinese people. It was they who created Chinese civilization and culture, and the people living in China today.

Isolated from the rest of the world, millions of square miles of land within great natural barriers gave rise to a unique civilization. To the east and south is the endless Pacific Ocean. In the north, steppes and deserts stretch into the frozen Siberian tundra. In the west lies the plateau of Tibet and the massive peaks of the Himalaya mountains. Two great rivers, the Yellow River and Yangtze Jiang, flow ceaselessly from west to east. The people living there called their nation the Central Country—China.

History is abstract, but its characters were real, living people. Each civilization is rooted in its history. The history remembered by its people guides its journey into the future. To understand the Chinese, we must understand Chinese culture. To understand Chinese culture, we must understand Chinese history.

Presented in three volumes are stories of characters who shaped the history of the Chinese from past to present. By knowing them, you will begin to understand today's China.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789881234971
Publisher:	New Epoch International Inc
Publication date:	09/20/2018
Series:	History of China , #1
Pages:	234
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

Table of Contents

0 Pan Gu —Creation of the universe

00 Nü Wa —Birth of mankind

1 The Yellow Emperor —Civilization begins

2 Emperor Yao —Ruled With Selflessness and Virtue

3 Emperor Shun —Filial and humane

4 Yu the Great —Controls the Flood

5 King Wen of Zhou —The Mandate of Heaven

6 Jiang Ziya —Fishing for a king

7 King You of Zhou —The laughter of a beauty brings a kingdom to ruin

8 Lao Zi —The Old Master of Taoism

9 Confucius —China's greatest teacher

10 Guan Zhong and Duke Huan —Honor the king, expel the barbarians

11 Wu Zixu —Revenge and justice

12 King Goujian of Yue —The triumph of a defeated kingdom

13 Mo Zi —Strong defense, universal love

14 Sun Zi and Sun Bin —The Art of War

15 Qu Yuan —When wise words fell on deaf ears

16 Shang Yang —Equal before the law

17 Ying Zheng —King of Qin

18 Qin Shi Huang —The First Emperor

19 Liu Bang —Destined for greatness

20 Han Xin —Pillar of the Nation

21 Xiang Yu —The Hegemon King

22 Emperor Wu of Han —The Emperor of War

23 Su Wu and Zhang Qian —Explorers of the Great Han

24 Wang Zhaojun —he beauty who brought peace

25 Chen Tang —The Han Dynasty's Wild West

26 Wang Mang —A tongue that tricked the empire with sweet lies

27 Liu Xiu —The empire reborn

28 Zhang Daoling —The Heavenly Master

29 Lü Bu —The End of a Tyrant

30 Cao Cao —The mightiest warlord

31 Liu Bei —Heroes of the Three Kingdoms

32 Zhuge Liang —The Crouching Dragon

33 Sima Yi —The end of an era

34 Hua Tuo —A doctor before his time

35 Sima Zhong —China plunges into chaos

36 Fu Jian —The battle that split China

Timeline of Events

Editorial Reviews

I'm a history buff, and as an American born Chinese, I've been reading a lot of Chinese historical fiction. I originally tried delving into Chinese Historical Non-fiction, but everything I found was way too dry or political. This book breaks down the most important historical figures of Chinese history into easy to read short stories that tell their historical impact. What's amazing about Chinese history is that the stories are gripping, wise, and dramatic. It's so fun to read and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to pick something up about Chinese history. Its the perfect blend of fiction and non-fiction!

by Yinyin

I just got the book yesterday and have read 6 out of the 36 stories so far. To my surprise, the book is quite an easy read. It keeps the difficult Chinese names at the minimum and presents interesting stories and characters.



"Heaven gave uniforms to the Yellow Emperor's army and books to the Yellow Emperor to teach him to organize his soldiers for battle. He invented a war chariot that could quickly transport troops anywhere they were needed, and drums to give commands to his soldiers at long range..."



It's fascinating to read about military strategies in 3,000 B.C., mixed with myths and legends.



Great content for my children to complement their Chinese language studies!

by Amazon Customer

From the Publisher