The Chinese Empire

Roxburgh, Ellis. The Chinese Empire. Part of the Great Empires series. 2016. 48p. ISBN 978-1-50260-636-5. Available at 931.01 ROX on the library shelves.

As one of the oldest civilization, China can boast of many accomplishments. One of them is having an unbroken succession of imperial dynasties stretching back thousands of years. But little was known of the Shang dynasty until the accidental discovery of a tomb in 1899 which provided significant archeological information about this era.

The Shang dynasty represents the first awakening of a future Chinese state. A series of leaders manage to impose their will on surrounding city states and formed a large kingdom that continued to absorb smaller neighbors and received tribute from client states. Since rice had not yet become the main dietary dish, wheat and barley were the crops of choice, and control of the fertile Yellow River valley provided enough food to sustain an extensive civilization. This book, then is the history of the first Chinese state.