Summary
Feel free to download this sample term paper to view our writing style, or use it as a template for your own paper. If you need help writing your assignment, click here!
| Assignment Type | Term Paper |
|---|---|
| Subject | N/A |
| Academic Level | Undergraduate |
| Citation Style | APA |
| Length | 2 pages |
| Word Count | 832 |
Need Some Help Writing your Paper?
We offer custom written papers starting at $32 / page. Your will get a completely custom-written paper tailored to your instructions, with zero chance of plagiarism.
Document Preview:
Note: It was absolutely impossible to describe thousands of years of history and a 300 page book in 600 words, but I have done the best summary I could under the circumstances. Thanks for the opportunity to work for you.
Summary:
China: Its History and Culture
Your Name
Your University
Your School of Engineering, Social Sciences, etc
Number and Name of Course
Instructor's Name
Date of Paper
Any author's notes should be entered here, flush left
Summary: China: Its History and Culture
Morton and Lewis’s (2005) attempts to pack a history, description, and summary of one of the world’s most ancient cultures into a mere 299 pages, including the front material and the index and everything in between. The first half of the book, from page 1 to page 147, covers Chinese history and culture from the beginning until 1811, including the religion and philosophy of this complex nation. This does not allow time for an extensive discussion of early China, which would have been both fascinating and would have helped to lay a better understanding of how China became what it is today, and why. This is particularly glaring when considered in light of the statement in the Foreword that “no aspect of China can be genuinely appreciated out of the context of its long history” (Morton & Lewis, 2005, xiv). In fact, an appropriate understanding of China cannot be reached without studying the Chinese history and culture vertically, compared to a Western history, which would be horizontally Morton & Lewis, 2005).
The 2004 and 2005 book editions have been updated with new materials; the original book was written by Morton and the updated editions were updated with a coauthor, Lewis (Morton & Lewis, 2005). Morton argues that Lewis was simply more familiar with modern China and that the new edition of the book reflects this. The thrust of the book remains to connect the past of China with the present, and by inference, its future.
The book begins with an extensive “note” as to spelling and pronunciation of Chinese words and names. The authors listed the old style names of individuals to the new name. This is important because reading Chinese history or cultural information can be quite confusing when the profusion of names and spellings is considered. The authors also point out that in direct quotations, the spellings utilized by the original authors are considered. In this way they try to provide a relatively easy way of keeping track of people throughout Chinese history.
FOCUS ON the political system, foreign relations, science and technology, religion and philosophy, economy.
China’s interface with world is based in part on its geography, and in part on its political system, which was able to hold the country together despite its vast area. The geographic borders tended to isolate the nation, limiting its contact with other nations. Thus, most contact was limited to trade with India and the Arab world, while Western contact was very limited until the point that sea routes were established (Morton & Lewis, 2005, p. 5). It was this conflagration of conditions that allowed China to develop on its own and essentially in its own time and way. This isolation sets the trend for China’s entire interplay with other nations. At the same time, the Qinling mountain range divides north and south China into what are essentially two countries.
The major dynasties of the Chinese were the Zhou, Quin, Han, Six Dynasties, Suit, Tan, Five Dynasties (North) and Ten Kingdoms (South), the Song, the Jin (North) and Southern Song (South), the Yuan, the Ming, and the Qing, followed by the Republican Revolution, the Communist Revolution, the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping’s Reform Era, the era of the Party, Greater China, and Wider world. While each of these dynasties has contributed greatly to the development of China, it is important to realize that China was essentially forced open in the nineteenth century, but closed again when the Communists moved in. The veil is once again lifting, and the cycles of China’s history continue. Each of the cycles has begun after political discontent and uprising in the previous cycle, leading to a new era that began the cycle again.
Beginning in 1911, the impact of Western trade had taken its toll and the Chinese had started to understand the new technology that was available and how it might benefit them. The People’s Republic of China developed directly out of the desire to have that technology available for use within China. The French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and the words of Karl Marx, compounded with the system of existing religions and cultural practices, all helped to develop the China that exists today. As (Morton and Lewis (2005) pointed out, Communism is a western idea; thus, the adoption of Communism signaled an acceptance of Western ways that most analysts missed. The Communist era was really an entry into modern society and yet another change in the path to today’s mostly-open nation.
References
Morton, W.S. & Lewis, C.M. (2005) China: Its history and culture. McGraw Hill. 4th edition.
Summary:
China: Its History and Culture
Your Name
Your University
Your School of Engineering, Social Sciences, etc
Number and Name of Course
Instructor's Name
Date of Paper
Any author's notes should be entered here, flush left
Summary: China: Its History and Culture
Morton and Lewis’s (2005) attempts to pack a history, description, and summary of one of the world’s most ancient cultures into a mere 299 pages, including the front material and the index and everything in between. The first half of the book, from page 1 to page 147, covers Chinese history and culture from the beginning until 1811, including the religion and philosophy of this complex nation. This does not allow time for an extensive discussion of early China, which would have been both fascinating and would have helped to lay a better understanding of how China became what it is today, and why. This is particularly glaring when considered in light of the statement in the Foreword that “no aspect of China can be genuinely appreciated out of the context of its long history” (Morton & Lewis, 2005, xiv). In fact, an appropriate understanding of China cannot be reached without studying the Chinese history and culture vertically, compared to a Western history, which would be horizontally Morton & Lewis, 2005).
The 2004 and 2005 book editions have been updated with new materials; the original book was written by Morton and the updated editions were updated with a coauthor, Lewis (Morton & Lewis, 2005). Morton argues that Lewis was simply more familiar with modern China and that the new edition of the book reflects this. The thrust of the book remains to connect the past of China with the present, and by inference, its future.
The book begins with an extensive “note” as to spelling and pronunciation of Chinese words and names. The authors listed the old style names of individuals to the new name. This is important because reading Chinese history or cultural information can be quite confusing when the profusion of names and spellings is considered. The authors also point out that in direct quotations, the spellings utilized by the original authors are considered. In this way they try to provide a relatively easy way of keeping track of people throughout Chinese history.
FOCUS ON the political system, foreign relations, science and technology, religion and philosophy, economy.
China’s interface with world is based in part on its geography, and in part on its political system, which was able to hold the country together despite its vast area. The geographic borders tended to isolate the nation, limiting its contact with other nations. Thus, most contact was limited to trade with India and the Arab world, while Western contact was very limited until the point that sea routes were established (Morton & Lewis, 2005, p. 5). It was this conflagration of conditions that allowed China to develop on its own and essentially in its own time and way. This isolation sets the trend for China’s entire interplay with other nations. At the same time, the Qinling mountain range divides north and south China into what are essentially two countries.
The major dynasties of the Chinese were the Zhou, Quin, Han, Six Dynasties, Suit, Tan, Five Dynasties (North) and Ten Kingdoms (South), the Song, the Jin (North) and Southern Song (South), the Yuan, the Ming, and the Qing, followed by the Republican Revolution, the Communist Revolution, the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping’s Reform Era, the era of the Party, Greater China, and Wider world. While each of these dynasties has contributed greatly to the development of China, it is important to realize that China was essentially forced open in the nineteenth century, but closed again when the Communists moved in. The veil is once again lifting, and the cycles of China’s history continue. Each of the cycles has begun after political discontent and uprising in the previous cycle, leading to a new era that began the cycle again.
Beginning in 1911, the impact of Western trade had taken its toll and the Chinese had started to understand the new technology that was available and how it might benefit them. The People’s Republic of China developed directly out of the desire to have that technology available for use within China. The French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and the words of Karl Marx, compounded with the system of existing religions and cultural practices, all helped to develop the China that exists today. As (Morton and Lewis (2005) pointed out, Communism is a western idea; thus, the adoption of Communism signaled an acceptance of Western ways that most analysts missed. The Communist era was really an entry into modern society and yet another change in the path to today’s mostly-open nation.
References
Morton, W.S. & Lewis, C.M. (2005) China: Its history and culture. McGraw Hill. 4th edition.