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Rating: 
Summary: Masterful
Review: Nuanced and wide-ranging, there is no better introduction to the texture of late Imperial Chinese culture and society than this volume.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books ever written
Review: This book gives a detailed picture of Qing Dynasty which ruled China from 1644-1912. It also tells the creation of the mighty empire and how it end feudalism in China. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Chinese history.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful
Review: This book is a model for what a cultural survey should be. It begins with an excellent brief survey of Chinese history of the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries, then surveys many things I wanted to know about an alien culture. I was most intrigued by the chapter on "Language and Symbolic Reference" (read after my brief traveller's survival course in Manderin). Dr. Smith explored not only the differences between the language and those of the West, but their implications for the Chinese style of thought: e.g., the spoken vocabulary is rich in homonyms and puns, leading to a style of reasoning by analogy and verbal similarity that comes far less naturally to speakers of the Romance languages. Smith also covers, for instance, social class, economics, religion and philosophy, art, literature, popular culture...an endless parade of the things mere histories rarely mention.
This is certainly the most interesting book I've read in a decade. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A rich portrait of a culture
Review: This book is a model for what a cultural survey should be. It begins with an excellent brief survey of Chinese history of the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries, then surveys many things I wanted to know about an alien culture. I was most intrigued by the chapter on "Language and Symbolic Reference" (read after my brief traveller's survival course in Manderin). Dr. Smith explored not only the differences between the language and those of the West, but their implications for the Chinese style of thought: e.g., the spoken vocabulary is rich in homonyms and puns, leading to a style of reasoning by analogy and verbal similarity that comes far less naturally to speakers of the Romance languages. Smith also covers, for instance, social class, economics, religion and philosophy, art, literature, popular culture...an endless parade of the things mere histories rarely mention.
This is certainly the most interesting book I've read in a decade. I highly recommend it.
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