''The Cambridge History of China'' is a series of books published by the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

(CUP) covering the history of China from the founding of the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

in 221 BC to 1982 AD. The series was conceived by British historian

Denis C. Twitchett Denis Crispin Twitchett (23 September 192524 February 2006) was a British Sinologist and scholar who specialized in Chinese history, and is well known as one of the co-editors of ''The Cambridge History of China''. Biography Denis Twitchett was b ...

and American historian

John K. Fairbank John King Fairbank (May 24, 1907 – September 14, 1991) was an American historian of China and United States–China relations. He taught at Harvard University from 1936 until his retirement in 1977. He is credited with building the field of Ch ...

in the late 1960s, and publication began in 1978. The complete ''History'' will contain 15 volumes made up of 17 books (not including the ''Cambridge History of Ancient China'') with volumes 5 and 9 consisting of two books each. Chinese history before the Qin dynasty is covered in an independent volume, ''The Cambridge History of Ancient China'' (1999) which follows the

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

romanization system; the other volumes except vol. 2 use

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' of ...

romanization. The final volume, Volume 4, was to be published in 2020, but is indefinitely delayed. An unauthorized Chinese translation of volume 7 (''The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1'') was made in 1992 by the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...

. In this version, the map of the Ming empire in the original was replaced by a more extensive map from ''

The Historical Atlas of China ''The Historical Atlas of China'' () is an 8-volume work published in Beijing between 1982 and 1988, edited by Tan Qixiang. It contains 304 maps and 70,000 placenames in total. The ''Concise Historical Atlas of China'' () was published in 1991. ...

'', while the other maps were used unchanged.

Volumes

The volumes of the series are as follows: # ''The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220'' (edited by

Denis Twitchett Denis Crispin Twitchett (23 September 192524 February 2006) was a British Sinologist and scholar who specialized in Chinese history, and is well known as one of the co-editors of ''The Cambridge History of China''. Biography Denis Twitchett was b ...

and

Michael Loewe Michael Arthur Nathan Loewe (born 2 November 1922) is a British Sinologist, historian, and writer who has authored dozens of books, articles, and other publications in the fields of Classical Chinese as well as the history of ancient and ear ...

), December 1986. . #''

The Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms, ...

, 220–589'' (edited by Albert E. Dien and Keith N. Knapp), 7 November 2019. . # ''Sui and T'ang China, 589–906 AD, Part 1'' (edited by Twitchett), September 1979. . This volume covers the political history of the Sui and Tang dynasties. # ''Sui and T'ang China, 589–906 AD, Part 2'' (edited by Twitchett), . This volume is intended to cover cultural and economic topics related to the Sui and Tang dynasties). till unpublished'' # ''The Sung Dynasty and its Precursors, 907–1279, Part 1'' (edited by Twitchett and Paul Jakov Smith), March 2009. . This part covers the political history of the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen concu ...

and the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. #* ''Sung China, 960–1279 AD, Part 2'' (edited by John W. Chaffee and Twitchett), March 2015. . This part covers government, economy, law, education, society, and philosophy of the Song dynasty. # ''Alien Regimes and Border States, 907–1368'' (edited by Twitchett and Herbert Franke), November 1994. . This volume covers the Khitan

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

, the

Jurchen Jin dynasty Jurchen may refer to: * Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century ** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty ** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...

, the Tangut

Western Xia The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...

dynasty, and the Mongol

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

. # ''The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1'' (edited by

Frederick W. Mote Frederick Wade "Fritz" Mote (June 2, 1922 – February 10, 2005) was an American sinologist and a professor of History at Princeton University for nearly 50 years. His research and teaching interests focused on China during the Yuan and Min ...

and Twitchett), February 1988. . This volume covers the political history of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. # ''The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 2'' (edited by Twitchett and Mote), January 1998. . This volume covers government, law, foreign relations, economy, culture, and religion of the Ming dynasty. # ''The Ch'ing Empire to 1800, Part 1'' (edited by Willard J. Peterson), December 2002. . This part covers the Manchu conquest of China, and the political history and society of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

from

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing (), was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned ...

to the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

. #*''The Ch'ing Dynasty to 1800, Part 2'' (edited by Peterson) April 2016. . This part covers early Qing conquests (Taiwan, Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet) and international relations (Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and maritime Europeans), as well as provincial governance, learning, Taoism, and local elites in the early Qing. # ''Late Ch'ing 1800–1911, Part 1'' (edited by John K. Fairbank), June 1978. . This volume covers the political history of the last 111 years of Manchu rule over China
online
# ''Late Ch'ing 1800–1911, Part 2'' (edited by Fairbank and

Kwang-Ching Liu Liu Kwang-ching (劉廣京 b. Beijing 14 November 1921- d. 28 September 2006 Davis, California), who sometimes published under the name K.C. Liu, was a China-born American historian of China. He taught at University of California-Davis from 1963 ...

), September 1980. . This volume covers the economy, foreign relations, political and social changes, and the revolution movement of the late Qing. # ''Republican China, 1912–1949, Part 1'' (edited by Fairbank and Twitchett), September 1983. . # ''Republican China, 1912–1949, Part 2'' (edited by Fairbank and

Albert Feuerwerker Albert Feuerwerker (November 6, 1927 – April 27, 2013) was a historian of modern China specializing in economic history and long time member of the University of Michigan faculty. He was the president of the Association for Asian Studies in 1991. ...

), July 1986. . # ''The People's Republic, Part 1: Emergence of Revolutionary China, 1949–1965'' (edited by

Roderick MacFarquhar Roderick "Rod" Lemonde MacFarquhar (2 December 1930 – 10 February 2019) was a British China scholar, politician, and journalist. MacFarquhar had a varied career. He was founding editor of ''China Quarterly'' in 1959. He served as a Member of ...

and Fairbank), June 1987. . # ''The People's Republic, Part 2: Revolutions Within the Chinese Revolution, 1966–1982'' (edited by MacFarquhar and Fairbank), November 1991. .

''The Cambridge History of Ancient China''

''The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC'' edited by

and

Edward L. Shaughnessy Edward Louis Shaughnessy (born July 29, 1952) is an American Sinologist, scholar, and educator, known for his studies of early Chinese history, particularly the Zhou dynasty, and his studies of the ''Classic of Changes'' (''I Ching'' 易經). L ...

was published in 1999 (). This book provides a survey of the institutional and cultural history of China up to the unification of China by

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...

in 221 BC. Fourteen specialists on early Chinese history including Robert Bagley,

Kwang-chih Chang Kwang-chih Chang (15 April, 1931 – January 3, 2001), commonly known as K. C. Chang, was a Chinese / Taiwanese-American archaeologist and sinologist. He was the John E. Hudson Professor of archaeology at Harvard University, Vice-President of th ...

Cho-yun Hsu Cho-yun Hsu (born Sep 3, 1930) is a historian born in Xiamen, China, of Wuxi ancestry. His family moved to Taiwan after the Chinese Communist Revolution. He graduated from National Taiwan University ( B.A.) and University of Chicago (Ph.D.) and ...

David Keightley David Noel Keightley (October 25, 1932 – February 23, 2017) was an American sinologist. He was a professor of Chinese history at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a published author covering the Shang and Zhou dynasties and the ...

Mark Edward Lewis Mark Edward Lewis (; born September 25, 1954) is an American sinologist and historian of ancient China. Life and career Mark Edward Lewis was born on September 25, 1954. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and s ...

, David S. Nivison, and

Jessica Rawson Dame Jessica Mary Rawson, (born 20 January 1943) is an English art historian, curator and sinologist. She is also an academic administrator, specialising in Chinese art. After many years at the British Museum, she was Warden (head) of Merton C ...

contributed to the book.

Selected reviews

* * * * * * *

Volumes

''The Cambridge History of Ancient China''

Selected reviews

References

See also