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The Shortest History of China

From the Ancient Dynasties to a Modern Superpower: A Retelling for Our Times

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The Shortest History of China

By: Linda Jaivin
Narrated by: Nancy Wu
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From kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk, China has influenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics, and philosophy across the world for thousands of years.

Chinese history is nothing if not messy. Heroes are also villains; prosperity mingles with violence; cultural vibrancy coexists with censorship and repression. Modern China is seen variously as an economic powerhouse, an icon of urbanization, a propaganda state and an aggressive superpower seeking world domination.

Jaivin distills this vast history into a sparkling narrative, from mythical origins to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a story in which China's women, from the earliest warriors to 20th-century suffragettes, receive long overdue attention.

As historical specters of corruption and disunity continue to haunt the People's Republic, Jaivin discusses what may lie ahead - not just for China but for the world.

©2021 Linda Jaivin (P)2021 Tantor
Asia China Politics & Government World Haunted
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The narrator is plegmatic to the core, and slightly ruins the audiobook experience. One can, and should, rise above that issue, but I'm sure a better orator could have been employed.

Personally I enjoyed it, but it had an undercurrent of woke ideology that was tiresome. However, I would recommend this as a start to learning about China.

Read The Prince again just to balance yourself out, and then dive in deeper to an amazing subject of history in the world.

good, woke, informative

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