China: An Interpretive History

From the Beginnings to the Fall of Han

Joseph Levenson, Franz Schurmann

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9780520318939
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780520318946
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Chinese History
• Index: History

China: An Interpretive History offers a compelling exploration of the origins of Chinese civilization, delving into the fascinating intersection of historical fact and cultural narrative. Beginning with the discovery of "Peking Man," this book examines the deep geological and evolutionary roots that predate Chinese history and raises profound questions about the nature of historical continuity. By tracing the line from prehistoric human remains to the emergence of a distinctly Chinese cultural identity, it illustrates how history, as a retrospective framework, imposes meaning on ancient artifacts and events, bridging the abstract with the culturally specific. The book's thought-provoking narrative does not merely recount events but interrogates the very concept of history itself, distinguishing biological evolution from cultural heritage. It invites readers to consider how "Peking Man," an evolutionary figure, becomes a historical one only through the lens of later cultural achievements and societal developments. This dynamic interplay between geography, anthropology, and the shaping of historical consciousness makes this work an essential resource for understanding how civilizations root themselves in the past while projecting their unique identities into the present. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1969.

Many titles in the Voices Revived program are also newly available as ebooks, offered at a discounted price to support wider access to scholarly work.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Background “Peking Man” (Homo Erectus Pekinensis)
• Implications History and Cultural Continuity
• Background Chinese Origins: The Legends
• Implications The Relation of “Legend” to “Fact”
• Background Prehistory and the Emergence of Shang
• Implications The Historical Point of Departure—to What?
• Background Shang Society
• Background The “Western Chou”
• Implications The Problem of Historical Analogy: (a) Feudalism as System
• Background Incipient Feudal Breakdown: the “Spring and Autumn” and Confucius
• Implications Dialectical Change — the Traditionalist as Innovator
• Background “The Hundred Schools”
• Implications Disputation and Creativity
• Implications The Problem of Historical Analogy: (b) Feudalism as Stage
• Background From Ch’in to Han: I, Confucianists and Office
• Implications Bureaucracy, Monarchy, and Social Stability: Confucianism and Legalism as Political Correlatives
• Background Han: II, Confucianists and Landownership
• Implications Bureaucracy, Monarchy, and Social Tensions: Obstacles to a Capitalist Resolution
• Background The “Yellow Turbans” and the End of the First Great Dynastic Period: the Descent into Disunity
• Implications Intellectual Implications of Social Stability: (b) Confucianism and Taoism as Symbolic Opposites
• A Note on Bibliography
• Index