China: Its History and Culture Paperback - 2004 - 4th Edition

First line

China, 3,600,000 square miles, is about the same size as the United States and second only to Russia in area.

From the rear cover

A concise and thorough history of one of the world's most powerful nations

This brilliantly lucid and concise study traces China's history and culture from Neolithic times to the present, working into an integrated and authoritative narrative that covers centuries of politics, warfare and government, science and technology, economics and commerce, religion, philosophy, and the arts. Most valuable of all, Dr. Morton illuminates the essential Chinese design, the underlying mental set of the people and the society. He has given approximately equal treatment to all premodern periods, as each has its importance in the evolving history of the Chinese experience, and has illustrated the work with numerous photographs, maps, paintings and drawings and quotations from the literature.

Newly updated and revised, China: Its History and Culture, Fourth Edition, also carefully examines the crucial social and economic changes that have taken place in China over the last decade.

"A wonderful job! So lucid, beautifully written, with great range and insight. This will set a new standard for short general histories of China."--Michael Gasster, professor emeritus of history at Rutgers University

"Simple, concise, factual, and yet comprehensive, penetrating and readable."--Wing-Tsit Chan, Professor of Chinese Philosophy and Culture Emeritus, Dartmouth College