Scan barcode
dda9's review against another edition
2.0
Very informative. Unfortunately, the depth is somewhat spoiled by the turgid academic prose. When people who think history is boring think of history, this is what they are thinking.
Even so, I would have sailed right through the book had it not been for the Audible narration. The narrator constantly mispronounces Chinese words. I realize that Chinese is a very difficult language for native English speakers. I don't expect that he have perfect pronunciation and tone; however, it is obvious that the narrator knows absolutely nothing about how to pronounce Chinese names. Even if he had just spent 20 minutes learning some basic sounds it would have made a world of difference. Just one example: the city Wuxi is pronounced woo-shee. Not hard. The narrator pronounced it like it rhymed with wookie - wuck-see. The Empress Cixi is pronounced Tse-shee. A little harder but not that bad. The narrator pronounced it kick-see. Seriously, 5 minutes for somebody to explain that in Chinese pinyin, an X is prounounced with an SH sound would have made it bearable. 15 minutes more to review major sound patterns and it would have been ok. That the producers couldn't be bothered to have ANY knowledge of the subject material is inexcusable.
This got so irritating that I had to stop half-way through and take a looooong break.
Even so, I would have sailed right through the book had it not been for the Audible narration. The narrator constantly mispronounces Chinese words. I realize that Chinese is a very difficult language for native English speakers. I don't expect that he have perfect pronunciation and tone; however, it is obvious that the narrator knows absolutely nothing about how to pronounce Chinese names. Even if he had just spent 20 minutes learning some basic sounds it would have made a world of difference. Just one example: the city Wuxi is pronounced woo-shee. Not hard. The narrator pronounced it like it rhymed with wookie - wuck-see. The Empress Cixi is pronounced Tse-shee. A little harder but not that bad. The narrator pronounced it kick-see. Seriously, 5 minutes for somebody to explain that in Chinese pinyin, an X is prounounced with an SH sound would have made it bearable. 15 minutes more to review major sound patterns and it would have been ok. That the producers couldn't be bothered to have ANY knowledge of the subject material is inexcusable.
This got so irritating that I had to stop half-way through and take a looooong break.
the3romes's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
An excellent, well written introduction on the history of modern China; a standard, notably the last edition.
cdbaker's review against another edition
3.0
I literally bought this book when I was in college. Out of date but gave me a pretty good framework for modern Chinese history.
simazhi's review against another edition
5.0
Textbook for a course on Modern Chinese history, focusing on the question "is China modern?". Spence asks this question time and again. Through supplying ample historical and textual evidence, he forces the reader to come up with an answer - one that is never completely a yes or no, for each of the different stages he explores in this work. Also, the professor teaching the course could have something to do with this feeling.
lauraellis's review
4.0
An epic history of China in the “modern age” from the end of the Ming dynasty in the 1500s [modern for China] to the present—the Tiananmen Square massacre. J.S. Ended on a rather up note, as if the T.S.M. Must inevitably lead to further openness and freedom, and I would very much like to know what he thinks now of the last 8 years and what he thinks will come. One of Jon [Metcalf]’s favorite books and a great primer for one who knows little Chinese history.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
4.0
Highly, highly recommended. Wonderfully comprehensive and thorough.