Years of Change 1700 To the Present, British Social and Economic History Book

Beginning with a discussion of what is known of the paleolithic age in the region of the world that we have come to know as China, the author moves forward in time at a stately pace, discussing the various governments that have risen and fallen in their attempts to unify all under heaven.

A heavy focus on the government with the occasional aside to talk about social mores, this book can be summed up as an explanation of how the Chinese built and refined a foundation of tradition with an understanding of their relationship with the world and Heaven. That foundation was challenged with the enforced opening of borders in the 19th century, and the ideological struggle between tradition and progress has marked Chinese society to the modern day.