Ch'ien Mu

This is the best introduction to the history of government in imperial China I have come across. Starting from the Han and finishing with the Ch'ing (but disregarding Yuan and the smaller dynasties in between), the author depicts the government systems of each period. He focuses on four topics in particular: the various official posts and their powers, taxation, military organization and the civil service examinations. He notes what changed from one dynasty to another. Quite often he also show more draws parallels to European government and democratic government in particular. They are a bit misplaced at times, since Europe didn't exhibit democratic government until the very end of the Ch'ing dynasty, but it's nevertheless interesting to see how a thoughtful Chinese comparison differs from the western prespective. The book is quite short and doesn't go into much detail on any particular subject. The author describes in broad terms how government functioned, or was intended to function, at the top of the bureacracy. He also outlines the relationship between imperial and local government for each period. One aspect he doesn't address is how much Chinese government actually accomplished in terms of public works and benefits. That's an east-west comparison I would like to see analyzed. show less