A Compact and Thoughtful Treatment of China’s Past
Paul S. Ropp’s China in World History is a volume from the New Oxford World History series from Oxford University Press, which has now grown to over 15 volumes. The concise histories from this series stress the “connectedness and interactions” (p. x) when looking at a region or period in world history. In this spirit, Ropp puts China in a global context in his treatment of the history of this vast country. In the same vein as Valerie Hansen’s textbook on pre-modern Chinese history The Open Empire: A History of China to 1800 (2nd ed., New York: W. W. Norton, 2015), Ropp states that he will challenge the assumption that “China developed its unique form of civilization without many outside influences or contributions.” (p. xvi) He recognizes the continuity of Chinese culture, but reminds his readers that it is also constantly changing and is often heavily influenced by the rest of the world.
Ropp begins the book by outlining his thoughts on the distinctive patterns in Chinese history. First of all, he states that China’s agriculture is labor intensive and productive due to the geographical setting. Moreover, historically the Chinese show an interest in organizing large scale projects. Chinese values stress the importance to respect one’s ancestors, and families are organized patriarchally. The final point that Ropp makes here is about China’s philosophy, which he identifies as an optimistic, humanistic, and holistic worldview. These are statements that readers could consider when Ropp carries on to introduce the essential developments in China’s past in the following sections of the book, where he contends that China’s contacts and interactions with other places are evident even from very early times, such as the Shang dynasty’s contact with neighboring cultures.
Covering over three thousand years of rich history in no more than 170 pages is no small feat. The book is divided into nine chapters, covering China’s beginnings to the present day. The narrative is hence fast-paced, but it is not difficult at all for readers to follow. Six of the nine chapters are devoted to China’s history up to 1800, and the rest deals with 1800 to the present; to me this is a rather reasonable balance between pre-modern and modern history as material for students who are new to China’s history.
One of the achievements of this brief history is that the author succeeds in bringing some of the important historical actors to life by seamlessly blending their stories into the broad-stroked narrative. These include not just well-known elite male figures like Su Shi, Zhu Yuanzhang, and the Kangxi emperor, but also women like Empress Dowager Feng of the Northern Wei and the late Ming courtesan Liu Shi (Liu Rushi). As a scholar who commands extensive experience in researching women’s history in China, Ropp paid ample attention to the social conditions of women in his treatment of Chinese history. The colorful biographical accounts of Chinese men and women are delightful to read, and they certainly help to prevent the narrative from being bland or patronizing. One possible assignment that could go with reading this book is to ask students to conduct research on and assess the role of these individuals in Chinese history.
Ropp’s textbook includes much welcomed attempts to compare China with other civilizations. For instance, he outlines the uniqueness of the intellectual trends of early China, comparing them with ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, and India. This discussion is brief but thought-provoking. The periodization of the chapters in this volume takes a rather conventional approach by arranging it according to dynastic eras, which is slightly surprising, given that the book emphasizes so much on the larger context of world history and its connectedness. One wonders if it is still the most effective framework in recounting China’s past, especially when we take into account its connections with the world. By now, at least for traditional China, it seems to me that Tansen Sen and Victor Mair’s topical but also roughly chronological arrangement of China’s engagement with the world in Traditional China in Asian and World History (Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Asian Studies, 2012) may be easier for students to grasp.
The point that Ropp makes about the outside influence on China is a much-needed reminder to those who think emphasizing the world’s influences on China is going to strip the country of its cultural achievements: “[I]t is not denigration of Chinese genius or ingenuity to note often the Chinese have borrowed institutions, inventions, products, and procedures from non-Chinese outsiders, sometimes willingly and sometimes reluctantly or by force, but all the while adapting them all to Chinese purposes.” (p. xvi) Ropp should surely be congratulated for his succinct and lucid summary and analysis of these outside influences. Indeed, one could argue that this book should make a bit more effort in assessing China’s cultural influence on the world or China’s comparative place in the world, but keeping it a slim volume that could be read by students within a week or two is a commendable achievement that should not be overlooked.
This clearly written book will make an excellent reference for undergraduate survey courses on East Asian history or world history even. With it students can quickly acquire a broad understanding of the historical development of China, and engage further in the study of connections and interactions in global history, which is never complete without taking into account China’s past, as world history curriculums that are broadening their coverage have already made clear. Ropp ends his book with the optimistic remark that China nowadays is more open to outside influence than even the Tang empire, and will have a bigger impact on the world than ever. One who reads this would wish that Ropp evaluates China’s ambivalent and sometimes difficult relationship with the world. In any case, with this growing impact of China, the book serves as an engaging and reliable introduction to China for readers who are a novice to the region.
Ropp’s effort in making personal names and other specialized terms less mesmerizing by including brief explanations about their meaning and modern relevance should be appreciated. This book contains many illustrations and maps, includes a chronology of main historical events and periods, and also has a careful selection of further readings and a list of informative websites. Some of these materials, however, can benefit from more careful proofreading.