The Great Wall of China : From History to Myth - No Information Available

The Great Wall of China

From History to Myth

By: No Information Available

Paperback | 6 July 1992

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This is the first full scholarly study of the Great Wall of China to appear in any language, and challenges many deeply held ideas about Chinese history. Drawing both on primary sources and on the latest archaeology, the book first demonstrates that the standard account of the Great Wall is untrue and misleading and then presents a convincing new account. It begins by tracing the various walls and systems of frontier defenses that existed in early Chinese history, and shows how the greatest of these achieved a mythical symbolic stature that long survived the Wall itself. Focusing in particular on the Ming dynasty, the book explains the decision to build walls by placing it in its strategic and political context, showing what the alternatives were, and how and why they were rejected. The nature of these strategic debates tells the historian much about the nature of more recent Chinese politics. A striking concluding chapter traces how the true history of the Wall was lost in the early twentieth century as it was gradually transformed into a Chinese national symbol explained through historical myth.
Industry Reviews
'Historical writing at its best, a brilliant and very readable account.' The Asia Society 'This book has a wisdom, a patience, and a confidence about it that enrich Waldron's wonderful knack for writing history.' History Book Club 'One of the few books that change our basic assumptions about China.' Publisher's Weekly

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