China, A History

                                                                                                                                                       History

China-A History

John Keay

This book is of epic proportions, if not in girth, surely in its scope. In approximately 500 pages John Keay covers 3000 years of Chinese history. He starts with the mythological five emperors, allegedly belonging to an era before 2000 BC and ends with the China of Comrade Mao. It was a gargantuan task, that he has performed well. He talks of the dynasties, the emperors, the plunderers and the empire builders, sages and philosophers, the language and the literature. He doesn’t shy from wading in the murky waters of controversial issues whether it is the question of autonomy of Tibet and Xinziang (Chinese Turkistan) or the unwavering belief and boast of Chinese in the continuity of Chinese Empires from the prehistoric times to the twentieth century, fables about the greatness of the ‘Great Wall’ or length of the almost mythical ‘long march’ of 1934-35, or the centrality of the so called Central Kingdoms of China. He does not shy in offering his frank, unhindered, well informed views on these subjects, however divergent his opinion may be from the accepted opinion.

His style is easy and writing lucid, though language at places seems a little esoteric. Narrative moves with a smooth and rapid speed and is mostly arresting. He enlivens the narrative with anecdotes about main characters in this vast drama and doesn’t spare an opportunity to insert a humorous jibe here and there.

One flaw of the book is that in its entirety it seems a chronicle of the various Chinese Empires. He could have delved a little more on the lives of the common men in various eras, their customs, religion, literature and their pastimes.

Overall, it’s a good book for an amateur history enthusiast who is keen to obtain a bird’s eye view of vast Chinese history. Its value for a keen academician can be judged only by one of their peers.