Decisive Battles in Chinese History
Regular price
€29.99
A01=Morgan Deane
Author_Morgan Deane
Battle for Luoyang
Battle of Changsha
Battle of Fei River
Battle of Hengyang
Battle of Hulao
Battle of Lake Paying
Battle of Maling
Battle of Red Cliffs
Battle of Yan Island
Battle of Zhenjiang
Cao Cao
Category=JWK
Category=NH
Category=NHF
Category=NHW
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Han Dynasty
Mandate of Heaven
Mao Zedong
Ming Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
Siege of Pyongyang
Siege of Xiangyang
Sino-Japanese War
Tang Dynasty
Third Encirclement Campaign
Product details
- ISBN 9781594164361
- Weight: 254g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 12 Sep 2024
- Publisher: Westholme Publishing, U.S.
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Covering more than two thousand years of history, twelve key battles that helped shape today’s China
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The study of Chinese battles faces many hurdles that include different spelling systems, a haze of seemingly impenetrable names, places, and ideas, and different approaches to recording history. Early indigenous Chinese histories were written by Confucians with an antimilitary bias, and used rather laconic phrases to describe battles. These accounts were then transmitted to Jesuit missionaries who shared the Confucian disdain for martial matters. The modern discipline of history developed in the West during a time of particular Chinese weakness and political division, resulting in the lack of parallel material. Decisive Battles in Chinese History by Morgan Deane overcomes these obstacles to present the vast span of recorded Chinese history through key battles, from Maling, fought in 342 BC during the Warring States period, to Hengyang in 1944, which marked the end of major Japanese operations in China. Each of the twelve chapters highlights a significant conflict that selectively focuses on unique Chinese characteristics of the time, including belief systems, ruling ideology, the connection between technology and warfare, military theory, political events and rulers, and foreign policy, including China’s eventual interaction with the West. The book pushes back on a variety of ideas and stereotypes, ranging from the Chinese use of gunpowder, their supposedly weak reaction to the West, the viability of the Dynastic Cycle in studying history, the context of Chinese military theory, the exclusivity of martial and cultural spheres, and the uniqueness of Western imperialism. It also offers a groundbreaking reassessment of Mao Zedong’s leadership and his impact on the development of guerilla warfare. In a world filled with disturbing reports of conflict and potential warfare, Decisive Battles in Chinese History offers a unique addition to students, historians, and general readers wishing to better understand Chinese history.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The study of Chinese battles faces many hurdles that include different spelling systems, a haze of seemingly impenetrable names, places, and ideas, and different approaches to recording history. Early indigenous Chinese histories were written by Confucians with an antimilitary bias, and used rather laconic phrases to describe battles. These accounts were then transmitted to Jesuit missionaries who shared the Confucian disdain for martial matters. The modern discipline of history developed in the West during a time of particular Chinese weakness and political division, resulting in the lack of parallel material. Decisive Battles in Chinese History by Morgan Deane overcomes these obstacles to present the vast span of recorded Chinese history through key battles, from Maling, fought in 342 BC during the Warring States period, to Hengyang in 1944, which marked the end of major Japanese operations in China. Each of the twelve chapters highlights a significant conflict that selectively focuses on unique Chinese characteristics of the time, including belief systems, ruling ideology, the connection between technology and warfare, military theory, political events and rulers, and foreign policy, including China’s eventual interaction with the West. The book pushes back on a variety of ideas and stereotypes, ranging from the Chinese use of gunpowder, their supposedly weak reaction to the West, the viability of the Dynastic Cycle in studying history, the context of Chinese military theory, the exclusivity of martial and cultural spheres, and the uniqueness of Western imperialism. It also offers a groundbreaking reassessment of Mao Zedong’s leadership and his impact on the development of guerilla warfare. In a world filled with disturbing reports of conflict and potential warfare, Decisive Battles in Chinese History offers a unique addition to students, historians, and general readers wishing to better understand Chinese history.
MORGAN DEANE is a military historian and freelance author. Literate in Chinese, he earned an M.A. in history from Norwich University and studied at Kings College London. His military analysis and political commentary has been published in numerous outlets, including Fox News, Washington Examiner, Las Vegas Journal Review, and Salt Lake Tribune.
