Solid introduction to Ancient China for young readers
Customer Rating: 
The institutional review coming with this page says: "Grade 5-10-Done in typical "Eyewitness" format, this volume touches upon such topics as Chinese history, the first emperor, inventions, health and medicine, waterways, food and drink, clothing, the Silk Road, and arts and crafts. Material from as recent as the last dynasty, which ended in 1912, is included. . . ." That summarizes nicely--both the age group for whom this book is intended and for the wide range of issues considered.
As such, the book works pretty well. As with all in this series, it reminds one of the first couple phrases in some lines about the Platte River: "A mile wide, an inch deep. . . ." Lots of coverage but not a whole lot of depth. But for young readers, this is a fine work.
The work begins with a bit of history, from the origins of the Chinese civilization under its first rulers, to the creation (by force) of a unified empire under the Qin Dynasty (China, the name, comes from this dynastic term), to the full unfolding of the empire under the Ming Dynasty after the expulsion of the Mongols.
There follows a discussion of the first dynasty (Shang, from 1650 to 1027 BC), the importance and central views of Confucius, the first emperor of a united China (Zheng), the development of an early civil service.
Then, some of the artifacts of the culture--printing and books, medicine, agriculture, food and drink, housing, dress, and so on.
The book closes out with a discussion of "The Silk Road" (during which time trade flourished between China throughout Asia to Europe), ocean voyages (voyages to the Middle East, Africa, India, the great islands of the Indian Ocean), and the end of empire, with the final emperor being deposed in 1912.
Again, as with others in this series, you get rather shallow coverage--but the illustrations are great and the amount of information provided really lined up with the age group targeted.
ANCIENT CHINA 1620 B.C.-1912 A.D.
Customer Rating: this an interesting book i read DK books are the best non-fiction books.the book talked about all the emperors,first
emperor of china,great wall,the food,and the silk road.You
should buy this book it's really a good DK book.the price is
just 19.95 OR 15.95
Ancient China
Customer Rating: This book report is about the world's oldest continuous civilization called China. From 221 B.C to A.D 1912 in China was combined under a great and powerful empire called the Qin Empire. Ancient China was remained untouched because it was apart by the huge a scorching deserts, mountain ranges, and the ocean. It was cut off from other cultures such as India, West Asia, and Europe. China's social structure was a main role in maintaining its national stability. What also helped China together was a great philosopher named Confucius who encouraged people to lead an ordered family way of life. Once in a while the Chinese empire experienced short periods of unrest and disunity and attacks from foreigners. During those times they changed the governments and they built many innovations and technological advances such as gunpowder, paper, printing, and industrial machinery. The Chinese people still used the same customs and traditions and stayed remarkably to today.
The first dynasty to leave historical record was the Shang Dynasty. Their kings ruled the greater part of northern China from 1650 to 1027 B.C., where the soil was fertile and had enough water from the Yellow River. The ruler of the dynasty was a priest or known as the Son of Heaven. He had to believe that his empire has to maintain good relations between our world and heaven. The Shang Dynasty had many slaves, but they rely upon the labor of their rural population. The peasant farmers cultivated the soil and took parts hunting for food and served as soldiers in the army.
Confucius believed that the early years of the Zhou dynasty were golden years of social harmony. During his lifetime, he saw growing disorder and saw reducing power in the dynasty. This fight became more and more turmoil, which led Confucius to develop a moral outlook. It was based on happiness, respect for elders, and strength in the family. He had a saying that a good ruler should set an example by dealing with people. In return, the people had to respect and obey their emperor. Confucius also believed that different families should be governed by common family relationships with a stable society. After Confucius encouraged ancestor worship because it strengthened families. Then the Chinese came to see themselves as a part of a greater family.
For three centuries of war marked a decline of the Zhou dynasty. This dynasty became unstable, so in 481 B.C. China was separated into seven warring states. The battles became large in scale with crossbowmen, cavalry, armored infantry, and chariots. During the war many men were killed and wounded. In 260 B.C. Sun Zi, a writer, wrote the Art of War, the world's oldest military handbook, which gave nobles practice of warfare. Eventually the northwestern state of Qin was victorious and united the feuding lords under one empire. The military began to decline and the civil service grew in importance and Confucianism came in.
During the 250 years of the Chinese empire was occupied a non-Chinese people from the north of the Great Wall. China prospered for 150 years of Manchu, Qin, and different rulers who ruled China. For the first time Chinese technology fell behind and France, Russia, and Japan began to bully the Qin empire. In 1912, ancient China was brining to an end of 2000 years of imperial history.
I recommend this Eyewitness Book: Ancient China because if learning about China in history class it can help you a lot. It has many captions you can read from and learn more just by reading it and the pictures shows you many things what were like and different paintings and sculptures. So whoever likes this may be smarter because they might learn something.
