Morris Rossabi is Distinguished Professor of History at City University of New York and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, he received a Ph.D. in Chinese and Central Asian History at Columbia University. He is the author of many books on Asian history, including Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists (2005), Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times (1988 and 2009), and Voyager from Xanadu: Rabban Sauma and the First Journey from China to the West (1992). Formerly Chair of the Arts and Cultures Board of the Open Society Institute, he has collaborated on exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Series Editor s Preface xi Preface xv Acknowledgments xix List of Illustrations xxi List of Maps xxv A Note on Romanization xxvi PART I CHINA AMONG BARBARIANS 1 1 Early History, to 1027 bce 3 Land and Settlement 3 Early Mankind 5 Agricultural Revolution in the Neolithic Era 6 Xia: The First Dynasty? 12 The Shang and the Origins of Chinese Civilization 16 Oracle Bones 17 Ritual Objects as Historical Sources 19 Shang Society 21 Notes 23 Further Reading 24 2 Classical China, 1027 256 bce 25 Feudalism ? 25 Changes in Social Structure 31 Political Instability in the Eastern Zhou 31 Transformations in the Economy 35 Hundred Schools of Thought 36 Daoism 38 Popular Religions 41 Confucianism 42 Mohism 48 Legalism 50 Book of Odes and Book of Documents 53 Secularization of Arts 56 Notes 57 Further Reading 57 3 The First Chinese Empires, 221 bce 220 ce 59 Development of the Qin State 61 Qin Achievements 63 Failures of the Qin 66 Han and New Institutions 70 Han Foreign Relations 73 Emperor Wu s Domestic Policies and Their Ramifications 78 Wang Mang: Reformer or Usurper? 81 Restoration of a Weaker Han Dynasty 82 Spiritual and Philosophical Developments in the Han 86 Han Literature and Art 89 Further Reading 96 4 Chaos and Religious and Political Responses, 220 581 97 Three Kingdoms 97 Rise of South China 100 Foreigners and North China 102 Northern Wei 104 Spiritual Developments, Post-Han 109 Buddhism Enters China 110 Literature, Science, and the Arts in a Period of Division 116 Notes 121 Further Reading 121 PART II CHINA AMONG EQUALS 123 5 Restoration of Empire under Sui and Tang, 581 907 125 Sui: First Step in Restoration 127 Disastrous Foreign Campaigns 132 Origins of the Tang 133 Taizong: The Greatest Tang Emperor 135 Tang Expansionism 137 Irregular Successions and the Empress Wu 139 Tang Cosmopolitanism 142 Arrival of Foreign Religions 144 Glorious Tang Arts 151 Decline of the Tang 153 Tang Faces Rebellions 157 Uyghur Empire and Tang 158 Tang s Continuing Decline 160 Suppression of Buddhism 162 Final Collapse 164 Efflorescence of Tang Culture 166 Notes 171 Further Reading 171 6 Post-Tang Society and the Glorious Song, 907 1279 173 Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms 173 Song: A Lesser Empire 177 A New Song Elite 179 Neo-Confucianism: A New Philosophy 182 Attempts at Reform 183 Women and the Song 188 The Khitans and the Liao Dynasty 190 Expansion of Khitan Territory 192 Preservation of Khitan Identity 192 Fall of the Liao 194 Xia and Jin: Two Foreign Dynasties 195 Song Arts 197 Southern Song Economic and Cultural Sophistication and Political Instability 202 Notes 206 Further Reading 206 PART III CHINA AND THE MONGOL WORLD 209 7 Mongol Rule in China, 1234 1368 211 Rise of Chinggis Khan 213 Legacy of Chinggis Khan 215 Expansion and Early Rule of Empire 215 Sorghaghtani Beki, Mongke, and Khubilai 217 Unification of China 218 Khubilai s Policies 219 Multiethnic and Multireligious China 220 Khubilai and Chinese Culture 222 Decline of the Yuan 226 Legacy of the Mongols 229 Notes 231 Further Reading 231 8 Ming: Isolationism and Involvement in the World, 1368 1644 233 A More Powerful State 236 Opening to the Outside World 240 A Costly Failure 244 Conspicuous Consumption 245 Arts in the Ming 246 Neo-Confucianism: School of the Mind 251 A Few Unorthodox Thinkers 253 Ming Literature 254 Buddhism: New Developments 258 Social Development and Material Culture 259 Violence in the Sixteenth Century 261 Fall of the Ming Dynasty 263 Further Reading 267 PART IV CHINA IN GLOBAL HISTORY 269 9 Early Qing: A Manchu Dynasty, 1644 1860 271 Preserving Manchu Identity 275 Kan