I may have the oppertunity to move from Japan to China in a few months, and in Japan I have found that knowing even a rough outline of the time periods, some forces at play, and the names of a few important people has really helped me appreciate my stay here more. I want to do the same with China but it just seems so daunting. I tried a Chinese history podcast, and I think it is good, but it just seems like an endless cycle of dynasty after dynasty being overthrown. I struggle with finding the important and cultural significant forces, events, and people. So where do you recomend I start for China 101. Im open to not only books, youtubes channels, podcasts, but also general hints and guidlines. For example, how much of the written history is semi mythical and where does that end?
There are a lot of good books for China in the Books and Resources List. As you are aware, Chinese history is long and there is just so much information, so your best bet would be to read a book on general Chinese history and find a specific time period and/or topic you are really interested in studying and go more in depth from there.
For example, how much of the written history is semi mythical and where does that end?
I would say anything before the Shang is either mythical or semi-mythical, simply because we don't have any written records of pre-Shang civilizations that was written by those people.