{"product_id":"great-state-china-and-the-world-paperback","title":"Great State: China and the World - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eTimothy Brook\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNow in paperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A dizzying and exhilarating journey. . . . Understanding how China sees itself and how it justifies its actions is critical to understanding today's world. Great State offers some compelling lessons for today, and for all our futures.\"--\u003cem\u003eNew Statesman \u003c\/em\u003e(UK)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe world-renowned scholar and author of \u003cem\u003eVermeer's Hat\u003c\/em\u003e does for China what Mary Beard did for Rome in\u003cem\u003e SPQR\u003c\/em\u003e: Timothy Brook analyzes the last eight centuries of China's relationship with the world in this magnificent history that brings together accounts from civil servants, horse traders, spiritual leaders, explorers, pirates, emperors, migrant workers, invaders, visionaries, and traitors--creating a multifaceted portrait of this highly misunderstood nation.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChina is one of the oldest states in the world. It achieved its approximate current borders with the Ascendancy of the Yuan dynasty in the thirteenth century, and despite the passing of one Imperial dynasty to the next, has maintained them for the eight centuries since. China remained China through the Ming, the Qing, the Republic, the Occupation, and Communism. But despite the desires of some of the most powerful people in the Great State through the ages, China has never been alone in the world. It has had to contend with invaders as well as foreign traders and imperialists. Its rulers for the majority of the last eight centuries have not been Chinese.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChina became a mega-state not by conquering others, Timothy Brook contends, but rather by being conquered by others and then claiming right of succession to the empires of those Great States. What the Mongols and Manchu ruling families wrought, the Chinese ruling families of the Ming, the Republic, and the People's Republic, have perpetuated. Yet a contemporary Chinese idea of a 'fatherland' that is, and always has been, completely and naturally Chinese persists. Brook argues that China, like everywhere, is the outcome of history, and like every state, rests on its capacities to conquer and suppress.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Great State\u003c\/em\u003e, Brook examines China's relationship with the world at large for the first time, from the Yuan through to the present, by following the stories of ordinary and extraordinary people navigating the spaces where China met, and continues to meet, the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Great State\u003c\/em\u003e includes black-and-white photos throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 464\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.2 x 7.9 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 20, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51765932196128,"sku":"9780063143449","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/504a7bf6b4fac4c18d6622c81e011cc5.webp?v=1780282854","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/great-state-china-and-the-world-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}