The Great Wall of China by Arthur Waldron

The Great Wall of China by Arthur Waldron

This is the first full scholarly study of the Great Wall of China to appear in any language, and it 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 defences that existed in early Chinese history, and shows how the greatest of these achieved a mythical symbolic stature which long survived the Wall itself. 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. The book is an important contribution to the history of China's defensive policy, and her ideological attitudes, and will be of interest both to students of Chinese history and of international relations in the pre-modern world.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780521365185
ISBN 10	052136518X
Title	The Great Wall of China
Author	Arthur Waldron
Series	Cambridge Studies In Chinese History Literature And Institutions
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	1990-07-27
Number of pages	310
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.