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Title: A Military History of China by David A. Graff, Robin Higham, Robin Higham David A. Graff ISBN: 0-8133-3990-1 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: March, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $31.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent research; concise and fluid writing style
Comment: This is an excellent book on a subject that's gotten disproportionately little attention in the west. The majority of English books available on Chinese military cover only the "modern" era, that is, from the Opium War and on. Graff covers a great deal of the times before the Opium War. This books uses the format of a collection of articles, written by some leading experts in the area.
One thing I really like is that there are some very good, insightful, and especially original ideas. The authours cite many sources of Chinese and non-Chinese oigin, but always question the sources' reality, validity, and authenticity. The questions and analyses have great depths, and the scholarship manifested in the work is outstanding.
There are discussions of different kinds of of warfare since the ancient time -- how chariot warfare was started as an aristocratic monopoly, to the rise of infantry as conscription became more frequently utilized, to the genesis of calvary as a reaction to the threats of the Nomadic peoples from the north. There are frequent comparisons between the west and the east and other parts of the world. For example, it's remarkable that China was able to conduct warfares with very large armies, supported by a complex economy, a sophisticated conscription system, and relatively advanced communication, supply logistics, and tactics. The ability to sustain this kind of warfares were usually not emulated in other parts of the world until the Industrial age.
I also like the writing style. It is concise, fluid, and well written.
I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 5
Summary: Destined to be a Classic: A Milestone of Research !
Comment: This is a brilliant book. It is well-researched, well written, a joy to read and the best book I have bought all year. It is also the sine qua non on the grossly neglected subject of Chines military history.
Professor Graff, a young Professor of Chinese military history has taken a wealth of secondary and original sources and woven a tight, chronologically-based history of Chinese warfare over 2000+ years. Graff's love is medieval Chinese warfare and this is amply demonstrated in the exhaustive treatment of pre-Ming Chinese warfare. Most interesting were the asessments of chariot warfare, archery and the use of light cavalry, especially when one reads this in conjunction with Sun Tzu's The Art Of War. I also found some of the later writing, especially regarding the Taiping rebellion and the European colonial interventions, fascinating. Graff somewhat neglects the Chinese lead in technology-they having invented stirrups,gunpowder and artillery 1000 years before the Europeans, but to be fair he ahs an enormous subject to cover.
I would reccommend this book to any advanced student of military history or Chinese scholar. I would also reccommend that one purchase Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War" and "God's Chinese Son" to read along with this book.
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Title: Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900 (Warfare and History) by David Andrew Graff ISBN: 0415239559 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: 01 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Modern Chinese Warfare (Warfare and History) by Bruce A. Elleman ISBN: 0415214742 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: May, 2001 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China: Wu Ching Chi Shu (History and Warfare) by Ralph D. Sawyer, Mei-Chun Sawyer ISBN: 0813312280 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: May, 1993 List Price(USD): $37.50 |
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Title: Late Imperial Chinese Armies 1520-1840 (Men-At-Arms Series, No 307) by Chris Peers, Christa Hook ISBN: 1855326558 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: October, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Imperial Chinese Armies (2) 590-1260 AD (Men-At-Arms, No 295) by Chris Peers, Mike Perry ISBN: 1855325993 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: July, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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