The Sextants of Beijing: Global Currents in Chinese History

by Joanna Waley-Cohen

Overview

This powerful work puts to rest the long-held myth that Chinese civilization is monolithic, unchanging, and perennially cut off from the rest of the world.

An inviting history of China from the days of the ancient Silk Road to the present, this book describes a civilization more open and engaged with the rest of the world than we think. Whether in trade, religious belief, ideology, or technology, China has long taken part in fruitful exchange with other cultures. With implications for our understanding of and our policies toward China, this is a must read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393242515
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	08/05/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Joanna Waley-Cohen is professor of history at New York University.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	3
1	Early Chinese Cosmopolitanism	11
	The Idealized Chinese Worldview
	The Early Imperial Age, 206 B.C.-A.D. 581
	Early Buddhism
	The Multicultural Ambience of Tang China, 618-907
	Trade and International Exchange under the Tang
	The Exchange of Ideas under the Tang
	Diplomacy
	Foreign Religions
	Commercial and Maritime Expansion under the Song, 960-1276
	The Mongol Yuan, 1276-1368
	The Ming Empire, 1368-1644
	The Advent of Europeans and the Impact of the Silver Trade
2	China and Catholicism in the Sixteenth through Eighteenth Centuries	55
	Late Ming China
	Qing Conquest, Ming Loyalism
	The Early Catholic Missions to China
	Jesuit Mission Policies
	Christianity, Religious Beliefs, and "Superstition"
	Breaking the Law
	The Decline of Catholic Influence in China
	Christianity and Buddhism: A Comparison
3	Foreign Goods and Foreign Knowledge in the Eighteenth Century	92
	War and Diplomacy in the High Qing
	Trade
	The Macartney Embassy
	China and European Arts and Sciences
	Astronomy and Mathematics
	Cartography
	Art and Architecture
	Artillery
	Chinese Abroad
	Origins of a Stereotype
4	The Turning of the Tables, 1796-1860	129
	China in the Early Nineteenth Century
	Foreigners in China
	The First Opium War, 1839-1842
	Chinese Mobilization
	The Treaty of Nanjing, 1842
	The Rise of Shanghai
	Chinese Emigration
	The Taiping Rebellion
	The Russians, the British, and the French, 1856-1860
5	Shields and Swords, 1860-1914	166
	Decline and Fall
	The Foreign Presence
	New Diplomacy
	Christian Missionaries
	Military Reform
	Industrialization
	The Boxers
	Changes in Education
	Study Overseas
	Opium and Footbinding
	Early Popular Action against Foreigners
6	Overcoming Habits of Mind, 1914-1949	207
	Empire to Republic
	China and Versailles
	New Culture, New Politics
	Work-Study
	The Guomindang, the Chinese Communists, and the Soviet Union
	Flirting with Fascism under Nationalist Rule, 1927-1937
	Rural Reconstruction
	The Guomindang, the Communists, and Japan
	China and the Western Allies in World War Two
	Wartime Culture
	Aftermath of War
	Bringing Foreign Domination to an End
7	Culture and Conflict, 1949-1997	247
	The Korean War
	New World Standing
	China and the Soviet Union
	China and the Vietnam War
	The Cultural Revolution
	Normalization of Relations with the United States
	After Mao
	The 1980s
	Christianity under the People's Republic
	Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang
	Adjusting Perspective
	Culture and the Nation
	Tiananmen, 1989
	China after Tiananmen
	Conclusion	283
	Notes	287
	Further Readings	293
	Index	299
	Maps
1.	Contemporary China	xii
2.	The World of Tang China	22
3.	The World of Late Ming China	50
4.	The Treaty Ports	149