John King FairbankAnmeldelser

Only Ancient Egypt and India rival the length and development of the four millennia long development of Chinese civilization, one that for centuries was more advanced than other locations on the Eurasian landmass until suddenly it wasn’t and challenged. China: A New History is the last work by noted historian John King Fairbanks with addition from Merle Goldman covering the post-Mao years to the beginning of the 21st century.

Covering a 4000-year-old civilization in a total of 455 pages of text, of which only 405 were written by Fairbanks, is a daunting history however Fairbanks quickly develops the threads and themes he will follow throughout the history of a nation and a culture. Barely over half the book is dedicated to the ‘Imperial’ period from the first appearances of the elements that would become then shape Chinese culture to the fall of the Qing dynasty and the rest of the book covering the 20th Century that saw the Republican, Nationalist, and Communist eras. Goldman’s last chapter and epilogue attempts to follow Fairbanks threads and themes though in her own words and style which meshed well. This is not a history the delves into important people until the arrival of Mao, yet those Fairbanks points out and gives significant page space to are connected to the threads and themes. The number of sources and closer we get to our own time means the speed of history slows down, which given the number of pages is understandable but there were some sections of Chinese history I which Fairbanks would have given more time to.

China: A New History is the masterpiece of noted historian John King Fairbanks with a well written addition by Merle Goldman bringing the nation’s history up to the 21st Century. Given the amount of time needed to be covered and the number of pages its down in, it’s a fantastic history.½

1/24/23

1/24/23

12/4/21

An excellent survey of modern Chinese history.

Values a strong sense of structure and analysis over wordy narrative diversions, but also maintains a high level of 'readability' - a notoriously difficult balance to strike in history books.

Highly recommended to newcomers of modern Chinese history who want an introduction to what makes China 'tick' without having to slug through wordy paragraphs regarding what Mao's favourite colour was.

Excellent summary of China. I liked how it doesn't always go chronologically, but walks through different aspects of Chinese society and history so you can see it as a whole.

I'm only one chapter in, but I like the author's approach. He is reputed to be the go-to scholar for a one-volume China history. He is even-handed and includes all of the classic forces that shape human development: geographic, cultural, economic. political, and religious determinants, etc. He writes clearly, and well, and my hard-bound copy he good maps. Yes!

A deep, thorough, expansive general history of China. I'm sure I missed a lot on my first read through.

This book is what I call a chewy read. John King Fairbank has his own style of writing and it took some getting used to but, boy was it worth it.

When I was in my formative years, Mao was leader of the PRC and was not only something of a mystery, but also as much of a bete noire as his Russian counterpart. We were regularly fed the latest crazy escapade of Mao and it was enough to steer me away from communism for many years. JKF does a sterling job with a gargantuan task; explaining China's history between 1800 and 1985 in a manner that a totally ignorant westerner might comprehend. Fairbank walks the reader through the story with sufficient confidence to take us along with him but, he has an equal supply of modesty making this an ideal starting place for one such as I (the aforementioned ignoramus). This is not a take it or leave it final word on Chinese history, it is a broad brush explanation which gives the reader a background.

Fairbank does not assume any previous knowledge and starts with a helpful chapter explaining where China stood prior to 1800. He then takes us through the failed attempts at replacing the Emperor right through Mao's audacious, and ultimately successful, revolt and the aftermath thereof. Although this book stops at 1985, and there is plenty to learn of china post that date (or at least, so I am told (remember, I'm the ignoramus)), I would suggest that it is vital reading for anyone wanting to develop an understanding of China and its culture.

A very good overview. A college textbook.

Quintessential book of the history of the Chinese people and culture. Written without the prejudice born during the Red Scare. Factual and seemingly unbiased. Wonderful read.

According to the introduction this collection of writings prepares the ground for making sense of Chinese political phenomena in terms meaningful to modern social science. I do not think it really comes close to achieving that goal. The contributions are well-written pieces, but they deal with disparate topics and events that are hundreds of years, if not millennia, apart. I liked the essays on the examination system and the relationship between chinese religion and confucianism, but the others were too heavy on uninteresting detail. So as usual for multi-author books, there were not any particularly great insights to be found in this one.

This was really challenging for me, as someone who doesn't know anything about China. I was determined to get through it, despite having less and less of a clue what was really going on, for its occasional wonderful characters and analyses of social institutions: salt smuggling, footbinding, the Ch'ing Dynasty academic system, etc. But damn it, I misplaced my copy somewhere. I *do* plan to finish it if it turns up.

Dit is eigenlijk een lesboek voor het leren lezen van officiële documenten uit de Qing. Het bevat teksten, woordenlijsten en uitgebreide uitleg. Op pp. 25, 38-39, 41-44 behandelt het algemene termen voor verschillende typen documenten en zogenaamde “documentary signposts”, d.w.z. termen die binnen een tekst aangeven wie aan het woord is. Op pp. 115-131 geeft het een index van Chinese termen die in het lesboek zijn gebruikt, met hun vertaling, zodat deze index als een handleiding tot de specialistische ambtelijke terminologie kan functioneren. [BtH]

Mooie introductie tot Oostelijk Azië. Nu verouderd

An excellent panoramic history of East Asian civilization up to the eve of its transformation to modern society. A broad selection of different topics are discussed thoroughly and clearly. Good comprehensive histories of China and Japan in English are still surprisingly hard to find. This one is getting a bit old but it's still the best one I've read.

This splendid general history of China is an authoritative guide through millennia, yet it also includes a great amount of material on recent Chinese history, especially in the chapters added by Merle Goldman. The late professor Fairbank is our guide most of the way, and his easy style makes for delightful reading.
The book addresses a number of continuing themes, such as the contrast between state and family, between urban and rural, between ruling elite and the masses. It devotes considerable time to the development and evolution of Confucian thought and the way that philosophical system influenced the government and culture of China. Fairbank also spends some time tracing the development of Mao thought. In addition, the author eases the way for the Westerner by comparing developments in China with similar developments in European history.
Two very useful features in this book: 1.) every so often Fairbank will pause to survey areas that should receive further scholarly research; 2.) an extensive guide to further reading for any subject that the reader might find of interest. All in all, this book is a wonderful narrative history and a worthy introduction to an important topic.

There is more of a focus on the Qing dynasty and after. In general, when compared to Hucker and Gernet, Fairbank & Goldman (I abbreviate 'Fairbank' from here on) are more closely interested in mechanisms, both governmental and economic, that predominated during historical times. He gives references to the range of academic studies concerning particular issues without getting bogged down in academic disputes.

However none of the books give a convincing explanation of the decline in wealth that took place in the 18th and 19th century. Fairbank emphasizes the law of diminishing returns, which existed in Europe, as well, so why should it be the primary explanation in this case? More reasonable is his comment that "merchants never broke free of official supervision, if not domination" (p. 179).

Note that the coverage of foot-binding here is far superior to that of Gernet and Hucker, who both largely ignore this practice.

Merle Goldsmith's 40-page coverage of the period following the Cultural Revolution is quite useful, although it covers only to 1998.

일본사 필독서

This is a very interesting survey of China through the Cultural Revolution, but the title is misleading. Rather than being an overview of Sino-U.S. relations, it discusses Chinese society and politics from the Qing Dynasty throught the 1970's and then mixes in U.S. reactions here and there. It was originally written shortly after the Chinese Communist Victory and was subsequently updated three times. This edition is from 1983, but the fingerprints of the 1950's interpretation are still present.

The book has two themes. The first is exploring the connections between Imperial China and Communist China. Fairbank spends about a third of the book discussing Chinese society, including the Confucian system, economics and the family structure. Fairbank does not draw outright linkages in most cases but suggests that things such as emphasis on family, morality and foreign policy in modern China were not destroyed by the CCP revolution but were adapted.

Morality was one of the more interesting aspects. Fairbank uses the Confucian mentality that errors are manifestation of shortcomings in a persons character. Alleviating errors is not a matter of learning. Rather it is a matter of correcting character flaws. He argues that this attitude is manifested in the CCP in the form of self-criticism. Making a mistake in policy must lead to a fundamental change in a person if they are to avoid further mistakes. It also demonstrates why Mao was unable to admit a mistake once a policy was implemented. Rather than admit a failing and scrap the policy, he would rather adjust the policy to limit the damage or slowing wind it down.

In foreign policy, Fairbank suggests that the tributary system of Imperial China was manifested in CCP foreign policy. He goes no further than to suggest the connection, but it is an interesting suggestion. He does something similar for Confucian relations, although he develops it a bit more. He argues that the CCP has adapted a similar type of philosophy, but instead of being loyal to the family, Chinese should be loyal to the Party. He also suggests that the CCP has adopted a form of the Mandate of Heaven to justify their rule, although they would never use that term.

Although Sino-American relations should be the emphasis of the book, based on the title, it gets relatively little play. His main point is that the U.S. and China are working off of opposing perceptions of their relationship. Whereas the U.S. sees itself as a protector of China when European powers encroached on her sovereignty, China see the U.S. as another imperialist. The fact that the U.S. was less agressive in the 19th century does not mean it was a friend of China. It's support for the KMT in the civil war and subsequent support for Taiwan and South Korean have cemented it in the Chinese mind as an imperialist aggressor. So when the two sides meet, they are essentially working off of different histories. Fairbank argues that both sides, but particularly the United States, should drop ideological preconceptions and focus on objective matters of potential cooperation and friendship.

His analysis of the differing perceptions is compelling, but his recommendations for improving relations seems fanciful. He outlines very vague principles which would be difficult to implement. Of course, since he prescriptions are 25 years old, it would be hard to take them too seriously today. The value of this book is in Fairbank's analysis of historical connections. The reader, however, must come to his own conclusions, bringing more recent developments into the equation.

This collection focuses on missionary work in China, how that work affected, and was affected by, American politics. Each essay has a different focus and cover a different time frame, providing some insight into specific issues, but often with little general applicability. It is a useful work, but only if you have a very specific focus.

It would take a deeper dome than mine to dare to review a Cambridge history. These sets are generally regarded as the apotheosis of historical scholarship. I'm just happy to have one!

When I was reading Seidensticker’s Genji and wanted some background I asked my pals in grad school for a recommendation and they ALL suggested this book. It filled the bill admirably. The Old China Hands give the straight-up, definitive, Ivy League, almost US-Government-line, version of East Asian History. The only thing missing is an on-the-ground view of the reality of daily life. Luckily that view is admirably filled by Steven W. Mosher in his two books Broken Earth: The Rural Chinese and Journey to the Forbidden China. I haven’t seen any of the new editions and updates of East Asia since the 1970s but, since this book is primarily a textbook, updates have probably continued the tradition.½

Fascinating book. I knew next to nothing about China's history before reading it, and I usually have difficulty reading history at all, but Fairbank handles the subject quite well, and adds the occasional dash of dry humor (which I was entirely not expecting).