A Military History of China

Rating:
Summary: Destined to be a Classic: A Milestone of Research !
Review: This is a brilliant book. It is well-researched, well written, a joy to read and the best book I have bought all year. It is also the sine qua non on the grossly neglected subject of Chines military history.
Professor Graff, a young Professor of Chinese military history has taken a wealth of secondary and original sources and woven a tight, chronologically-based history of Chinese warfare over 2000+ years. Graff's love is medieval Chinese warfare and this is amply demonstrated in the exhaustive treatment of pre-Ming Chinese warfare. Most interesting were the asessments of chariot warfare, archery and the use of light cavalry, especially when one reads this in conjunction with Sun Tzu's The Art Of War. I also found some of the later writing, especially regarding the Taiping rebellion and the European colonial interventions, fascinating. Graff somewhat neglects the Chinese lead in technology-they having invented stirrups,gunpowder and artillery 1000 years before the Europeans, but to be fair he ahs an enormous subject to cover.
I would reccommend this book to any advanced student of military history or Chinese scholar. I would also reccommend that one purchase Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War" and "God's Chinese Son" to read along with this book.

Rating:
Summary: Destined to be a Classic: A Milestone of Research !
Review: This is a brilliant book. It is well-researched, well written, a joy to read and the best book I have bought all year. It is also the sine qua non on the grossly neglected subject of Chinese military history.
Professor Graff, a young Professor of Chinese military history has taken a wealth of secondary and original sources and woven a tight, chronologically-based history of Chinese warfare over 2000+ years. He has edited a series of interesting articles-including one gem on naval operations!
Graff's love is medieval Chinese warfare and this is amply demonstrated in the exhaustive treatment of pre-Ming Chinese warfare. Most interesting were the asessments of chariot warfare, archery and the use of light cavalry, especially when one reads this in conjunction with Sun Tzu's The Art Of War. I also found some of the later writing, especially regarding the Taiping rebellion and the European colonial interventions, fascinating. Graff somewhat neglects the Chinese lead in technology-they having invented stirrups,gunpowder and artillery 1000 years before the Europeans, but to be fair he has an enormous subject to cover.
I would reccommend this book to any advanced student of military history or Chinese scholar. I would also reccommend that one purchase Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War" and "God's Chinese Son" to read along with this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent research; concise and fluid writing style
Review: This is an excellent book on a subject that's gotten disproportionately little attention in the west. The majority of English books available on Chinese military cover only the "modern" era, that is, from the Opium War and on. Graff covers a great deal of the times before the Opium War. This books uses the format of a collection of articles, written by some leading experts in the area.

One thing I really like is that there are some very good, insightful, and especially original ideas. The authours cite many sources of Chinese and non-Chinese oigin, but always question the sources' reality, validity, and authenticity. The questions and analyses have great depths, and the scholarship manifested in the work is outstanding.

There are discussions of different kinds of of warfare since the ancient time -- how chariot warfare was started as an aristocratic monopoly, to the rise of infantry as conscription became more frequently utilized, to the genesis of calvary as a reaction to the threats of the Nomadic peoples from the north. There are frequent comparisons between the west and the east and other parts of the world. For example, it's remarkable that China was able to conduct warfares with very large armies, supported by a complex economy, a sophisticated conscription system, and relatively advanced communication, supply logistics, and tactics. The ability to sustain this kind of warfares were usually not emulated in other parts of the world until the Industrial age.

I also like the writing style. It is concise, fluid, and well written.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent research; concise and fluid writing style
Review: This is an excellent book on a subject that's gotten disproportionately little attention in the west. The majority of English books available on Chinese military cover only the "modern" era, that is, from the Opium War and on. Graff covers a great deal of the times before the Opium War. This books uses the format of a collection of articles, written by some leading experts in the area.

One thing I really like is that there are some very good, insightful, and especially original ideas. The authours cite many sources of Chinese and non-Chinese oigin, but always question the sources' reality, validity, and authenticity. The questions and analyses have great depths, and the scholarship manifested in the work is outstanding.

There are discussions of different kinds of of warfare since the ancient time -- how chariot warfare was started as an aristocratic monopoly, to the rise of infantry as conscription became more frequently utilized, to the genesis of calvary as a reaction to the threats of the Nomadic peoples from the north. There are frequent comparisons between the west and the east and other parts of the world. For example, it's remarkable that China was able to conduct warfares with very large armies, supported by a complex economy, a sophisticated conscription system, and relatively advanced communication, supply logistics, and tactics. The ability to sustain this kind of warfares were usually not emulated in other parts of the world until the Industrial age.

I also like the writing style. It is concise, fluid, and well written.

I highly recommend this book.