The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC

For too long there has been no up-to-date, general historical introduction to ancient China. This book remedies that deficiency, and does so in a wonderful way! The book is topically organized, with each chapter written by a leading scholar on that topic. The list of contributors reads like a "Who's Who" of contemporary Sinology: K.C. Chang on Chinese "pre-history"; David Keightley on the Shang Dynasty; Hsu Cho-yun on the Spring and Autumn Period; Mark Lewis on the Warring States Period; David S. Nivison (see his _The Ways of Confucianism_) on ancient Chinese philosophy, etc. The general reader should be warned that the scholarship here is sometimes a little intimidating. However, careful reading will be well repaid. As you can see, the price is a real problem. Perhaps it will come out in paperback some day, but I wouldn't count on it happening any time soon. If you are seriously interested in ancient China, hock your wedding ring and buy this book!

Une base incontournable pour commencer à comprendre la Chine pré-Qin par les meilleurs spécialistes.

If only one word is to be used for the verdict on this book it must be “monumental”. More than a thousand pages of text and illustrations and another 100 pages of bibliography and general index. The work takes the reader from neolithic times to the year 221 B.C. where China was unified under one emperor. The 4 main epochs: the Shang Dynasty, the Western Zhou, Spring & Autumn and Warring States are each treated in 2 lengthy chapters, one dealing with the archaeology and the other with the history, as it is known from mainly later sources. For the 2 latter epochs we get additional chapters on the philosophers (e.g. Confucius & Mencius) and other cultural aspects. Finally there is a chapter on China’s northern neighbours at that time, and a sum-up of the period’s legacy to the subsequent empires. Each chapter is written by a separate scholar, expert in his or her field. Most are very good writers. Overlaps or inconsistencies between the chapters are very few. Obviously, the editors have done a tremendous job in streamlining everything. The chapters on philosophy and culture are complex to read, maybe more so than necessary. The writing here also seems to be less lucid and more convoluted. The main interest in these chapters appears to be in the sources of what we know – not what the ancient Chinese actually knew. The result may be a trifle dry. Also, the introduction to the Chinese language and script mainly focuses on the basic principles of creating a written version of the language. Here the present reviewer would have been more interested in the gradual development of the script, from the small hieroglyph-like pictures to the totally abstract characters known today. Curiously enough, the detailed historical treatise actually ends around 231 B.C, so we miss the story of the final 10 years’ conquests by Shi Huang of Qin, which unified the country and made him emperor. These small objections aside, the book has many nice features. For instance, whenever a Chinese word or name is spelled out in pinyin, the original characters are shown as well, eliminating the doubt which often accompanies romanized transcriptions of Chinese. In general, the layout and typescript of the pages are harmonious and pleasing to the eye. The numerous illustrations and maps support the text very well. They are in black and white and printed on the ordinary pages. This does render photographs a trifle pale, but is acceptable as a means of keeping down the cost of such a voluminous work. And finally, to my dear co-reviewers: I have read the entire book from one end to the other and seen no problem with the binding. In conclusion, for anyone interested in the ancient history of China and only wanting to read one book, the Cambridge History is the one to go for.

This expensive book is characterized as a "hardback". It is not. It is a poorly conceived and assembled paperback (not bound), with stiffened paper covers. Close inspection of its construction reveals that the spine will disintegrate as soon as the book is opened wide enough to read. In addition, the quality of the 'print' is so poor (the pages have the appearance of xeroxes taken on a not very good copier with a freshly refilled toner cartridge) that the illustrations are ugly and many almost useless. More importantly, many of the Chinese characters, particularly in the footnotes, are unreadable. This is particularly unfortunate, as this volume is the first in the Cambridge History of China series to be graced with Chinese characters embedded in the text, a welcome innovation for this series and one awaited with much anticipation. This 2007 reprint follows reprints in 2006 and 2004, which may have been real hardback books, competently printed on quality paper. The colophon behind the title page gives no clue to the origin of the 'book' or identity of the 'printer', but the back page perhaps unwisely bears the name of an outfit called Lightning Source UK Ltd, Milton Keynes UK. There is no excuse for this kind of shoddy production. Volume 5 Part One of the Cambridge History of China (2009 reprint "Printed in the United States of America" like most of the series) is afflicted with the same woeful, downmarket paperback construction and poor print/paper quality, but that is at least hardbound, so that it appears to be a hardback book even if it is under the same threat of disintegration upon reading. Volume 5 Part Two, 2015 "Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd" is a great improvement, almost up to the generally excellent standard of the rest of the series. Come on, CUP. Please do not treat your top dollar-paying customers with such overt contempt. Not all of us are buying for publicly funded libraries. We pay high prices for these books and we do not appreciate being fobbed off with such shoddy copies. As for the contents, I cannot comment, as I fear that opening the book sufficiently wide to read it will bring about its disintegration (also true for Volume 5 Part One, which is even now embarking upon its entropic descent).

First 76 pages are missing.