1. The Origins of Chinese Civilization: Neolithic Period to the Western Zhou Dynasty. Animal and Human Imagery in Bronze Vessels -- 2. Philosophical Foundations: The Eastern Zhou Period -- 3. The Creation of the Bureaucratic Empire: The Qin and Han Dynasties -- 4. Buddhism, Aristocracy, and Alien Rulers: The Age of Division. Early Buddhist Art -- 5. A Cosmopolitan Empire: The Tang Dynasty -- 6. Shifting South: The Song Dynasty. Landscape Painting -- 7. Alien Rule: The Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties. Drama and the Performing Arts -- 8. The Limits of Autocracy: The Ming Dynasty. The Kilns at Jingdezhen -- 9. Manchus and Imperialism: The Qing Dynasty. Working for a Living -- 10. Taking Action: The Early Twentieth Century. Modern Chinese Painting -- 11. Radical Reunification: The People's Republic.

China : a history in objects / Jessica Harrison-Hall.

"The British Museum."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 342-345) and index.
Text copyright 2017. "First published in 2018 in harcover in the United States of America"--colophon.

Introduction -- Early China : 5000-221 BC -- Empires : 221 BC-AD 960 -- Emperors, scholars and merchants : 960-1279 -- Mongols and Ming : 1271-1644 -- Qing: the last dynasty : 1644-1911 -- Modern China : 1911-present.

This illustrated introduction to the history of China offers a fresh understanding of China's progress from the Neolithic age to the present. Told in six chapters arranged chronologically, through art, artifacts, people, and places, and richly illustrated with expertly selected objects and artworks, it firmly connects today's China with its internationally engaged past. From the earliest archaeological relics and rituals, through the development of writing and state, to the advent of empire, the author charts China's transformation from ancient civilization into the world's most populous nation and influential economy, offering historical insights and cultural treasures along the way. This accessible book presents an eclectic mix of materials including Chinese theater, the decorative arts, costume, jewelry, and furniture-making, running through to the most recent diffusion of Chinese culture.

Local access dig.pdf. [Harrison-Hall-China : a history in objects.pdf]

Contents: Introduction / Arnold Toynbee -- Signs and meanings: Chinese writing through four millenia / E. Glahn -- The middle kingdom: Chinese politics and society from the Bronze Age to the Manchus / D.C. Twichett -- Beyond the wall: China's relations with her northern neighbors / Owen Lattimore -- The Path to wisdom: Chinese philosophy and religion / Wing Tsit-chan -- The empirical tradition: science and technology in China / S. Nakayama -- Worlds and language: the Chinese literary tradition / James J.Y. Liu -- Chinese culture overseas: Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Tibet / Zenryu Tsukamoto -- Feudal Japan: Politics and society from the eighth century to 1868 / Charles D. Sheldon -- Cult and Creed: Religion in Japan before the Meiji / Carmen Blacker -- A literature of the court and people: Japanese poetry, drama and the novel before the Meiji / Donald Keene -- Europe goes East: the first impact of the West on China and Japan / Paul A. Cohen -- A new role for Japan: the Meiji revolution and its sequel / Y. Toriumi -- Rebellion, reform, and revolution: China, Korea and Vietnam in the modern world / Jean Chesneaux -- Chronology.

***Graphic resource: Chinese calligraphy, bronzes, rubbings, scientific instruments, Chinese mathematics, astronomy, Christian century in Japan, Jesuits, Matteo Ricci, Zheng He, credential tablets, maps, history of writing, popular religion, gods, door-gods, Chong Kui, Guan Yu, and many other details. An overlooked item, with many interesting graphics, including a page from the Ricci-Ruggieri Portuguese-Chinese dictionary.

Provides an introduction to the history of China since 1800, with chapter summaries and a chronology.
1. China at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century -- 2. The Opium Wars -- 3. Rebellion and Restoration -- 4. Restoration and Self-strengthening -- 5. Imperialism in the Late Qing Period -- 6. Nationalism and Reform in Late Imperial China -- 7. The 1911 Revolution -- 8. The Early Republic, 1912-28 -- 9. The Rise of the Guomindang and the Nanjing Decade -- 10. The Sino-Japanese War and the Civil War -- 11. The People's Republic of China: the Revolutionary Period to the Great Leap Forward -- 12. From the Cultural Revolution to the Death of Mao -- 13. From the Death of Mao to the Death of Deng.