A History of East Asia
Douban
From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century
Charles Holcombe
résumé
Charles Holcombe begins this extraordinarily ambitious 2011 book by asking the question 'What is East Asia?' In the modern age, many of the features that made the region - now defined as including China, Japan, and Korea - distinct have been submerged by the effects of revolution, politics or globalization. Yet, as an ancient civilization, the region had both an historical and cultural coherence. It shared a Confucian heritage, some common approaches to Buddhism, a writing system that is deeply imbued with ideas and meaning, and many political and institutional traditions. This shared past and the interconnections among three distinct, yet related societies are at the heart of this book, which traces the story of East Asia from the dawn of history to the twenty-first century. Charles Holcombe is an experienced guide who encapsulates, in a fast-moving and colorful narrative, the vicissitudes and glories of one of the greatest civilizations on earth.
• An introduction to East Asia from the dawn of history to the present by a premier scholar in the field • Emphasizes connections between China, Japan and Korea, as well as wider Eurasian and global currents • Features illustrations, maps, a glossary, a pronunciation guide, a timeline and a bibliography
contents
Introduction: what is East Asia?; 1. The origins of civilization in East Asia; 2. The formative era; 3. The age of cosmopolitanism; 4. The creation of a community: China, Korea, and Japan (7th–10th centuries); 5. Mature independent trajectories (10th–16th centuries); 6. Early-modern East Asia (16th–18th centuries); 7. The nineteenth-century encounter of civilizations; 8. The age of Westernization (1900–29); 9. The dark valley (1930–45); 10. Japan since 1945; 11. Korea since 1945; 12. China since 1945; Afterword.
