Lives in China for a few years and read constantly before during and after those years, looking to get a grip on the national character. Suggest Gavin Menzis "1421: the Year China Discovered America" as one window into a major transition period that informs a lot of the way Chinese see themselves today. You'd like Menzis, he was a care…
Lives in China for a few years and read constantly before during and after those years, looking to get a grip on the national character. Suggest Gavin Menzis "1421: the Year China Discovered America" as one window into a major transition period that informs a lot of the way Chinese see themselves today. You'd like Menzis, he was a career Submarine Captain with a lot of experience looking at coast-lines from 12 feet above the waves, precisely the perspective that early mapmakers had. Other big components helpful in understanding China include events that have contributed greatly to the contemporary national character and risen to the level of something like national myths might include the Opium wars, the Long March, the Taiping revolution, and an understanding of the vast administrative network built around the rigorous examinations needed to select qualified scholar/administrators. Understanding the power and extent of the eunuch bureaucracy, and the astounding detail of convention and ritual at play in the Forbidden City, are also very central.
Lives in China for a few years and read constantly before during and after those years, looking to get a grip on the national character. Suggest Gavin Menzis "1421: the Year China Discovered America" as one window into a major transition period that informs a lot of the way Chinese see themselves today. You'd like Menzis, he was a career Submarine Captain with a lot of experience looking at coast-lines from 12 feet above the waves, precisely the perspective that early mapmakers had. Other big components helpful in understanding China include events that have contributed greatly to the contemporary national character and risen to the level of something like national myths might include the Opium wars, the Long March, the Taiping revolution, and an understanding of the vast administrative network built around the rigorous examinations needed to select qualified scholar/administrators. Understanding the power and extent of the eunuch bureaucracy, and the astounding detail of convention and ritual at play in the Forbidden City, are also very central.