Books: China. A History By John Keay

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Action, homicide, revolution, treason, intrigues, heroes & villains, blood and thunder. You will find all that and much more in just one book: "China. A History", by John Keay (amazon ). It`s not just another history book, it`s a thriller, but not solely based on fiction. The author describes the ups and downs of a gigantic nation.

Keay explains why China´s rise, the awakening "of the dragon", is just a comeback, a reawakening. In the 16th century China was already the largest and wealthiest nation on Earth. 

And the Asian giant had many "golden ages" before then. The Han Empire (202 BC till AD 220) was as large as the coeval Roman empire, and China`s brightness lasted until the end of the millennium, not just half way through it. But for China, after each "golden age" came a deep fall.

The history of China is as colorful as a Chinese New Year Parade. It´s also a tale about fights, and a permanent struggle about power. Keay describes the many battles between the "Kingdom of the Middle" and her neighbors, the clashes between emperors and their usurpers or families about dominance. Very often the rulers struggled with the bureaucrats, who were very powerful eunuchs. Most of the time the administration was the true ruler of the vast empire.

The giant struggles China had to suffer in over 2,500 years brought the world many gifts. China invented paper, book printing (long before Gutenberg printed his Bible), the compass, banknotes (paper money), kites (ancestors of airplanes), rockets, noodles (spaghetti) and much more.

"China. A History" is highly recommend, not just for historians or students of economics and politics, it helps everybody to understand why the globe is changing again now.  And - it is an exciting read.