Looking for books on the Zhou and Tang dynasties.

by Strange-Prune4482

I have three months off of work and am now working on a personal project to determine key factors of the falls of empires, dynasties and ages. Its more of a hobby to keep my mind busy however I cannot find many, if any books on the Zhou and Tang dynasties in ancient China. Especially ones that detail both the rise and fall of the dynasties themselves as well as how they sustained themselves for so long. Does anyone have some recommendations? Thanks in advance!

If anyone has any other books about various empires, or anything that would help me please say.

Friday_Sunset

The original Zhou dynasty precedes the period of Chinese history that I am most familiar with, so I don't have good recommendations for you there. For the Tang dynasty, here are a few recommendations in terms of English-language literature (you can get these via Amazon or straight to Kindle):

  • Sui-Tang China and its Turko-Mongol Neighbors, by Jonathan Karam Skaff, provides excellent geopolitical context for the Tang dynasty and explores the web of intricate relationships between the dynasty and its neighbors on the steppe.
  • The Way of the Barbarians: Redrawing Ethnic Boundaries in Tang and Song China, by Shao-yun Yang, explores similar topics including many directly relevant to the Tang dynasty's greatest challenges (the An Lushan Rebellion and decentralization in the 800s).

I know these books don't necessarily pertain to Zhou or Tang, but they do address the fall of Chinese empires of similar breadth to the Tang, such as the Han (both the Western and Eastern Han), the Sui, and the Song. Some recommendations:

  • English translations of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian are available for purchase online and make for a fascinating study of Qin and Han China, and its precursors. Note that the Records detail the Zhou dynasty.
  • Chang'an 26 BCE, an anthology, provides a slice of life in the Western Han dynasty at its cultural height a couple of decades before its usurpation by the regent Wang Mang. The scholarly articles contained within (many of which are really well-written) are great explorations of the rise of Confucianism, the use of political astrology, the nature of the city proper, and the various political machinations of an empire headed toward catastrophe.
  • Fire over Luoyang, by Rafe de Crespigny, is a richly detailed narrative history of the Eastern Han dynasty, which collapsed during the famous Three Kingdoms period (on which de Crespigny has written extensively). He is a really fun and engaging writer who makes the history come alive.
  • Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, by Victor Cunrui Xiong, is both a detailed academic biography and a gripping narrative of the second (and last powerful) Sui emperor, who presided over a misunderstood and controversial reign that was overthrown during the chaos that led to the creation of Tang.
  • The Reunification of China: Peace through War under the Song Dynasty, by Peter Lorge, is one of my favorite books about imperial China. It is a superbly written book that details the interplay between politics and warfare that led to the reunification of "China proper" by the Song founder.
  • Huizong, by Patricia Buckley Ebrey, is an immersive and engagingly-written study of the Northern Song emperor, a renowned artist who got the empire caught up in the Jurchen Jin invasion, which led to the northern dynasty's collapse.
  • 1587: A Year of No Significance, by Ray Huang, is a highly-regarded and very fun exploration of the decline of the Ming dynasty through a "cross-section" study of key figures and events taking place in one year.