Book description
Gaining an understanding of China's long and sometimes bloody history
can help to shed light on China's ascent to global power. Many of
China's imperial dynasties were established as the result of battle,
from the chariot warfare of ancient times to the battles of the
Guomindang (KMT) and Communist regimes of the twentieth century.
China's ability to sustain complex warfare on a very large scale was
not emulated in other parts of the world until the Industrial Age,
despite the fact that the country is only now rising to economic dominance.
In A Military History of China, Updated Edition, David A. Graff and
Robin Higham bring together leading scholars to offer a basic
introduction to the military history of China from the first
millennium B. C.E. to the present. Focusing on recurring patterns of
conflict rather than traditional campaign narratives, this volume
reaches farther back into China's military history than similar
studies. It also offers insightful comparisons between Chinese and
Western approaches to war. This edition brings the volume up to date,
including discussions of the Chinese military's latest developments
and the country's most recent foreign conflicts.
""Brings together some of the leading experts on Chinese
military history. This book covers the entire sweep of Chinese history
from the Spring and Autumn right up to the present day. A Military
History of China is suitable for use in military history or 'War and
Society' seminars, and should provide some necessary balance in what
are traditionally very Eurocentric courses." -- Pacific
Affairs" --
David A. Graff, associate professor of history and director of the
East Asian Studies program at Kansas State University, is the author
of Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300--900. He lives in Manhattan, Kansas.
Robin Higham, professor of history emeritus at Kansas State
University, is the author and editor of many books, including Why Air
Forces Fail: The Anatomy of Defeat. He lives in Manhattan, Kansas.
