Ancient China

Richly illustrated with photographs of historical heritage, this book chronicles major events which led to the rise and fall of dynasties. The focus is also on historical figures such as a petty bureaucrat in the Qin dynasty, a writer who loved travelling, or a scholar-official who devoted himself to calligraphy and painting. In this way, the authors, all young historians, narrate stories about the history of ancient China: from the era of the Warring States (475 221 BC) when seven kingdoms wrestled with each other for supremacy to the unification of the country in the Qin dynasty (221 207 BC), from the period of Three Kingdoms (220 280) when it was divided again after the collapse of the Han dynasty (206 BC AD 220) to the massive Rebellion of An Lushan (755 763), which shook the Tang dynasty (618 907), and from the everyday life in the Song dynasty (960 1279) to the increased integration of ethnic groups to the transformation of the country in the Ming (1368 1644) and Qing (1636 1911) dynasties. Who were Chinese? How did they become what they are today? What does it mean to be Chinese in a long run? The book attempts to address such issues that have been widely discussed.