Demystifying China - by Naomi Standen (Paperback)

About the Book

For westerners, China's history is often reduced to a choice between timeless Confucian ideals or incomprehensible barbarisms such as footbinding or mass slaughter. This engaging and deeply knowledgeable book vigorously counters such oversimplifications. In concise and accessi...

Book Synopsis

For westerners, China's history is often reduced to a choice between timeless Confucian ideals or incomprehensible barbarisms such as footbinding or mass slaughter. This engaging and deeply knowledgeable book vigorously counters such oversimplifications. In concise and accessible style, China experts present cutting-edge research in an accessible format that challenges readers to move beyond the standard portrayals of Chinese history and develop more complex and nuanced understandings of the historical background and legacies that are essential for any realistic comprehension of twenty-first-century China.

Review Quotes

Outstanding writers fully grounded in current scholarship have banded together to provide a comprehensive, convincing, yet open view of the complex problems of Chinese history. The authors forsake the easy conventions of previous generations to create a new platform for accessible yet deeply informed discussion of the past three millennia. Tired and unproven generalizations about China's technological and scientific development, its engagement with the sea, the diversities within its culture, and its approach to modernization will no longer satisfy anybody who has read this innovative book.


Standen and her collaborators have made an outstanding contribution to the literature on China. Written by prominent authorities but accessible to nonspecialist readers, Demystifying China demolishes longstanding popular misconceptions about many key aspects of Chinese history and culture. A particular strength is that it does not simply engage in debunking but also explains how and why the conventional wisdom took shape and even acknowledges the partial validity of some long-held views. It is ideal reading for introductory courses in Chinese studies and indeed for anyone seeking reliable orientation on this increasingly important subject.


This book presents 22 short topical articles, each by a different scholar, intended to dispel misconceptions that becloud understanding of China's long history from antiquity to Tiananmen. Brief, up-to-date suggestions for additional reading appended to each entry add to the value of this volume. Generally, as one would expect of the book's distinguished editor, the entries are well written and authoritative, making this therefore a major resource for anyone teaching broad survey courses or seeking a summary of current thinking on a particular vexing issue. Most of the entries can stand alone, but they are best considered within the context of Chinese history as a whole. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

About the Author

Naomi Standen is professor of medieval history at the University of Birmingham.