The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream

Documentarian Wood (The Story of England) chronicles 4,000 years of Chinese history in this brisk and accessible account. Moving chronologically from China’s distant past to the events of the past century, Wood pays particular attention to the country’s long history of global encounters. Highlights include descriptions of life in a Han dynasty postal station on the Silk Road between the first century BCE and 107 CE, and an account of Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci’s attempt to “bridge civilizations” by accepting Chinese “beliefs and rituals for the veneration of the dead” in the early 17th century. Wood also details social unrest and rising foreign influence after the Opium Wars and the Taiping rebellion, and documents “mass hysteria” sparked by Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, including the destruction of family heirlooms and cultural relics by Red Guards, and the massacre of 9,000 men, women, and children by local Communist party bosses in the town of Daoxian in Hunan province. Deeply researched and energetically written, this immersive account is a worthy introduction to the vast sweep of Chinese history and culture. (Nov.)