Ancient Chinese Armies 1500-200 BC (Men-At-Arms Series, 218) (Men-at-Arms, 218)

First of all, the plates are anything but 'bland' but are in fact very exciting. Honestly, I am no expert on ancient Chinese warfare and thus cannot say how accurate they are. Regardless of the plates, the text is extremely useful providing an excellent intro to the subject; exactly what I was seeking when I purchased this book. It covers the ancient and mysterious Shang Dynasty, the Chou Dynasties, and the warring states that were finally united in the 3rd Century BC.

thanks

A thousand years of history, of evolution in concepts of warfare, of tactical innovations and new weapons. A tough endeavor for Dr. Peers, particularly because westerners usually have few basic knowledge of the extremely interesting Chinese culture and history.Divided by broad chronological periods (Shang, Western and Eastern Chou, 4th and 3rd century BC, the ch'in Empire) and concentrating on the main written and archeological sources, the reader will get an abstract on the main conflicts of those periods and the basic description of weapons and armies of the period. Short descriptions of 10 major engagements, tactical doctrine, sieges and fortifications and some particularities of several kingdoms military characteristics or personalities are also provided.Some data will stand out: The use of bronze to make weapons even so late as the 3rd century BC, the early use of the crossbow and the inability of "barbarians" to replicate the trigger mechanism, the military literature, the human sacrifices and "hunting expeditions" popular in the Shang period, the chariot being used in the Han period although in the process of being replaced by cavalry. In so many ways they were more advanced then contemporary Romans and Greeks and in so many others they were so far from them.Very good photos of artifacts from the British Museum (but the author could use more sources), and nice color plates (not the best) from Angus McBride. Maps provided for each period with political divisions and main cities (like a previous reviewer commented, they aren't great looking - this book was originally printed in 1990 and the maps reflect it very well - but they fulfill the role of providing the reader a geographical reference and political evolution of the several kingdoms).

This is the first book in a four-part series of books published by the Osprey Publishing Company on the Armies of Imperial China. The period of time of Chinese history covered by this particular book is from 1500 B.C.E. until 200 B.C.E. This is the period of the Shang (1523 B.C.E. [Before the Common Era] through 1028 B.C.E.), the Western Chou (1027 B.C.E. through 770 B.C.E.), the Eastern Chou (770 B.C.E. through 256 B.C.E.) and the Ch'in (221 B.C.E. through 206 B.C.E.) dynasties.Like most other book published by Osprey Publishing Company, this book a series of important maps which makes the book a very good reference book for a reader reading other books about Chinese history of the particular period. This particular book deals with the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (reign from 247 B.C.E. until 220 B.C.E.). Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered that his entire army be sculptured entirely out of terracotta. Then when he died in 220 B.C.E. this entire terracotta army was buried with the emperor only to be rediscovered in 1974 of the modern era.

This is a good book and it helped me a lot when I was just beginning to explore Chinese military history. It contains a short but useful chronology and quite a lot of white and black pictures of archeological findings.The eight gorgeous colour plates by the late Angus McBride, in my modest opinion the most gifted of all artists who ever illustrated military history books, are certainly eye-candy, but they are also, as far as I can judge, not reflecting how REALLY ancient Chinese fighters looked. Their costumes, weapons and armor are... well, weird, to say the less and frequently do not seem very functional. I think that with all the archeological findings of those last 20 years this book could use a new edition with entirely new color plates.The maps are extremely simple and not very helpful - this is possibly the weakest point of the book.This book is short, as all Men-at-Arms positions, but is nevertheless well filled with facts and real information. The text is clear and interesting. You must however be aware that this is just VERY superficial introduction, as the time period described (1300 years!) is very long and it includes no less than six very different sub-periods:- Shang dynasty: c. 1500 BC-c.1027 BC; a militaristic, agressive, expansionist and centralised state, which could be compared to both Assyrian and Aztec empires- Eastern Zhou dynasty: c. 1027 BC - 771 BC; a less centralised state with significant autonomy of its more distant provinces and with less expansionist policy- Springs and Autumns (First period of Western Zhou): 771 BC-453 BC; disintegration of centralised empire and its transformation in a loose (sometimes purely nominal) confederation of lesser states- Seven Warring Kingdoms (Second period of Western Zhou): 453 BC-221 BC; a period of almost permanent war between seven most powerful Chinese kingdoms with other states being progressively absorbed and the ruling (purely nominaly) central dynasty Zhou being overthrown- Qin Empire: 221 BC-207 BC; China unified by the First Emperor, but his empire desintegrates after his death- Han-Chu War: 206 BC-202 BC; great war for the succession of the Qin Empire, won ultimately by the first emperor of Han dynastyIt is obvious, that treating such a long, complex and eventful period in only 40 pages of text is possible only by simplifying things to the extreme. Still, this is a very useful book for all those who are interested in Chinese military history and who just BEGIN exploring this field.

Not enough info to validate paying full price for this. and the pictures are not used in a learning capacity. Le Sigh.

Suche nach Kleidung aus dieser Zeit

it's akids book - but based on the period, the best you can get - if you want a simple reference of what was being used at the time.