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Loading... Everyday Life in Early Imperial Chinaby Michael Loewe
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In this lively and accessible account, with illustrations on nearly every page, Michael Loewe gives us a vivid picture of the lives of peasants working the land, the lives of town inhabitants, and the elaborate hierarchy of institutions and civil servants that sustained the vast imperial government. In a new Preface and an updated Bibliography, Loewe calls our attention to the significance of scholarly research and discoveries since the original publication of his classic work. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)931.04History and Geography Ancient World Ancient China to 420LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The problem seemed, to me, to be in the dryness of the presentation. The book covers the Han Dynasty age from 202 BC to 220 AD. And while I didn't expect an in depth, scholarly review of the era in so short a work, I did think it might have done a little better. This was a land and time period filled with fascinating, exotic history and life, and yet Loewe seems to have backed away from areas that might have benefited from a little more color. This was especially noticeable when he dealt with anything having to do with Chinese religion or philosophy, both of which he rolled into one with little regard for what either offered. In this, it was obvious that his Western bias showed, and once so obviously apparent, it seemed to me that they colored other parts of the work as well.
This book did provide me with a few pieces of background material I needed for research purposes. The material on things like the ranking system for people and their rights and privileges is an excellent, quick over view of the subject. A look at life in the city is also interesting.
In all, not a bad book to read, even with the few flaws in presentation. ( )