China between empires : the northern and southern dynasties /

This volume is a synthetic attempt to examine a most chaotic age of Chinese history, oftentimes referred to as the early medieval period. Steering away from the conventional way of situating major events and figures within the time frames of the major regimes that rose and fell on the central plain and in the south, Lewis (Stanford) organizes the book's main contents around eight themes: geography, the great families, militarism, urbanism, rural life, relations with the outside world, kinship, and religion. These are followed by a conclusion on the Sui Empire, which emerged at the end of the period. Essentially based on secondary studies, the book provides a lucid account in relatively simple language. By design, the author limits the number of proper names. Still, the book is wide-ranging in scope and interspersed with interesting ideas. For instance, not satisfied with the existing nomenclatures, East and West, Lewis offers a new concept: to use "Northern and Southern Dynasties" to comprehend the entire era. The concept will provoke debate and resistance, but nonetheless provide ample food for thought. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. V. C. Xiong Western Michigan University