ISBN10: 0804708878, ISBN13: 9780804708876, [publisher: Stanford University Press] Hardcover "474 pages. No djA work unique in the sweep of its design and scope, intended expressly for the general reader interested in h uman history and culture, this is a vivid panoramic survey of the vast course of Chinese civilization from prehistory to 1850, whe n the old China began the agonizing transition to the new. Histor ical surveys of China tend to be dynasty-by-dynasty chronicles wi th a profusion of names and dates and occaisional cultural tidbit s, or to concentrate on the period from earliest times to the Han dynasty (or the T'ang), giving only scant coverage to the last t housand years. China's Imperial Past is different. Not only does it treat the three major periods of Chinese history at roughly eq ual length, weaving all their complexity into a balanced, integra ted whole, but it gives ample space to China's magnificent litera ry and artistic achievements. The author's approach is primarily interpretive, emphasizing patterns of change and development rat her than factual details, but he never loses sight of the particu larities that made traditional Chinese civilization one of the ri chest in human history. Especially notable are the many translati ons of Chinese poetry, among them more than twenty exquisite poem s from the great poets of the T'ang. The author divides Chinese history into three major epochs: a formative age, from high ...