Jonathan Porter has always been artistically inclined wanting to find some positive medium in which to use his God given talent to help others,hoping to make writing for children his calling and to give inspiration towards wanting more.

This clear and engaging book provides a concise overview of the Ming-Qing epoch (1368–1912), China’s last imperial age. Beginning with the end of the Mongol domination of China in 1368, this five-century period was remarkable for its continuity and stability until its downfall in the Revolution of 1911. Viewing the Ming and Qing dynasties as a coherent era characterized by the fruition of diverse developments from earliest times, Jonathan Porter traces the growth of imperial autocracy, the...

"For many people who have encountered it, Macau makes a deep impression on the imagination, as if the city were not entirely real or, rather, not of the real world. Macau often seems dreamlike, as though it were sustained by the effort of some powerful imagination." In this evocative essay on the cultural and social history of a unique and fragile city, Jonathan Porter examines Macau as an enduring but ever-changing threshold between East and West. Founded by the Portuguese in 1557, Macau ...

The turbulent and chequered past of the world's most populous country is one of the most fascinating in world history, and relatively little known in the West. From the beginnings of Chinese prehistory right through to internet censorship with the 'Great Firewall of China', Gordon Kerr offers a comprehensive introduction to the sprawling history of this enormous country. A Short History of China provides an absorbing introduction to more than 4,000 years of Chinese history, telling the sto...

Chinese Civilization sets the standard for supplementary texts in Chinese history courses. With newly expanded material, personal documents, social records, laws, and documents that historians mistakenly ignore, the sixth edition is even more useful than its classic predecessor. A complete and thorough introduction to Chinese history and culture.

Here is a fascinating compact history of Chinese political, economic, and cultural life, ranging from the origins of civilization in China to the beginning of the 21st century. Historian Paul Ropp combines vivid story-telling with astute analysis to shed light on some of the larger questions of Chinese history. What is distinctive about China in comparison with other civilizations? What have been the major changes and continuities in Chinese life over the past four millennia? Offering a gl...

“A wonderful job! So lucid, beautfully written, with greatrange and insight. This will set a new standard for shortgeneral histories of China.”—Michael Gasster,professor emeritus of history at Rutgers UniversityNewly updated and revised, China: Its History and Culture,Fourth Edition, incorporates the crucial social and economicchanges that have taken place in China over the last decade.Through rich detail and engaging illustrations, the book tracesChina’s ...

A "gripping, colorful" history of China's Great Wall that explores the conquests and cataclysms of the empire from 1000 BC to the present day ( Publishers Weekly).Over two thousand years old, the Great Wall of China is a symbolic and physical dividing line between the civilized Chinese and the "barbarians" at their borders. Historian Julia Lovell looks behind the intimidating fortification and its mythology to uncover a complex history far more fragmented ...

THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU• to appreciate the variety, subtlety and wisdom of a unique philosophical tradition• to understand the major schools of thought that have shaped Chinese civilization• to draw on a rich cultural resource for different perspectives on questions of our time• to recognize traditional concepts that continue to inform Chinese thinking today China, an emerging superpower, is heir to an ancient civilization that owes little to outside influences....

Throughout its 4,000-year history, Korea has created a vibrant and unique culture. Unfortunately, many believe it developed solely due to Chinas influence, thus leaving no room for an independent history and culture. This is simply wrong.The New History of Korean Civilization explores the existence of a distinctive Korean culture established by the Korean people and separate from its Chinese and Japanese counterparts. Author Chai-Shin Yu, distinguished professor of Korean ...

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, known amongst English speakers as Burma, is often characterized as a place of repressive military rule, civil war, censorship and corrupt elections – and despite recent attempts to promote tourism to this little-known country, few people visit this region of Asia.In A History of Myanmar since Ancient Times, Michael Aung-Thwin and Maitrii Aung-Thwin take us from the sacred stupas of the plains of Bagan to the grand, colonial-era British...

This engaging, deeply informed book provides the first concise history of one of China's most important eras. Leading scholar John W. Dardess offers a thematically organized political, social, and economic exploration of China from 1368 to 1644. He examines how the Ming dynasty was able to endure for 276 years, illuminating Ming foreign relations and border control, the lives and careers of its sixteen emperors, its system of governance and the kinds of people who served it, its great clas...