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Linda Jaivin

Autore di Mangiami

17+ opere 653 membri 15 recensioni

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Opere di Linda Jaivin

Opere correlate

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This is as it says on the tin: a very brief history of China, organised chronologically/by dynasties. Linda Jaivin does push back against the tendency for such political/economic histories to exclude women's voices and experiences. Women's role in shaping Chinese society is readily acknowledged here, and Jaivin makes good use of poetry and literary references to add some shading and depth to her narrative. I did find the prose a little choppy at points, and transitions between topics could have been smoother. But for a quick, big-picture introduction to Chinese history, this is solid.… (altro)
 
Segnalato
siriaeve | 3 altre recensioni | Jun 2, 2023 |
Cuatro amigas se reúnen para intercambiar experiencias sobre sus conquistas amorosas y sus fantasías sexuales. Julia es una fotógrafa obsesionada por los chicos jóvenes; Helen es profesora de ideología feminista con deseos inconfesables; Chantal es editora de una revista de moda, con tendencia a dejarse seducir por nuevas experiencias y Philippa, una escritora que oculta su lesbianismo y sus tendencias sadomasoquistas.
 
Segnalato
Natt90 | 3 altre recensioni | Mar 1, 2023 |
I discovered Five Books at Twitter and have been keeping an eye on it ever since as a useful guide to book recommendations on non-fiction subjects. (Fiction, not so much.) Their website describes what they do as...
... a library of knowledge, curating book recommendations on any topic. Experts recommend the five best books in their subject.

So when their China expert recommends Linda Jaivin's The Shortest History of China, you know it must be pretty good to have been chosen from amongst hundreds to be one of the five. By 'good', I mean 'authoritative' because I can only judge whether the book is interesting or well-written. I have no expertise to judge whether it gives an accurate picture of China or not.

The Shortest History of China is a remarkable feat. In only about 250 pages, it covers China's ancient beginnings to the present day, beginning the history of our powerful neighbour with one of its creation stories:
Far, far back in time, a popular Chinese creation story tells us, primal chaos congealed into an egg, in which the complementary cosmic energies of Yin and Yang thickened around a hairy, horned giant called Pángû. Eighteen thousand years passed. Pangu hatched fully formed, holding an axe, with which he hacked apart the Yin and Yang . The Yin became the earth beneath his feet, and the Yang, the sky. As he grew taller, he pushed the two further and further apart. After Pangu died, his flesh turned to soil, his sweat to rain and his breath to wind. His blood flowed as rivers and seas. His eyes became the sun and the moon. From his hair sprung plants and trees, and the fleas in his fur became animals and people. (p.10).

Beginning in this way signals that the book is a cultural history, much more than just a timeline of dynasties and a catalogue of events.

When I was at school, we learned about the ancient civilisations of the Middle East: the Sumerians and the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. These days, the Year 7 Australian Curriculum (V8.4) mandates a general overview of the ancient world (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece, Rome, India, China and the Maya) and students then learn in detail about one Mediterranean civilisation: Egypt or Greece or Rome, and one Asian civilisation: India or China. My guess is that there are many students who find Jaivin's history very useful indeed.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2023/02/17/the-shortest-history-of-china-2021-by-linda-...
… (altro)
 
Segnalato
anzlitlovers | 3 altre recensioni | Feb 16, 2023 |
לכאורה אמביציה בלתי אפשרית. תולדות סין במשך אלפי שנים ב 280 עמודים על ידי לא סינית. אבל למרות זאת הצלחה לא קטנה - קריא, מעניין, ומלמד הרבה, ביחוד לאחד כמוני שלא ידע דבר על הנושא
½
 
Segnalato
amoskovacs | 3 altre recensioni | Jan 20, 2023 |

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Autori correlati

Statistiche

Opere
17
Opere correlate
4
Utenti
653
Popolarità
#38,652
Voto
½ 3.4
Recensioni
15
ISBN
77
Lingue
8

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