China: A Framework for Understanding: An Overview of the Cultural Characteristics, Philosophies, Significant Events, and People That Is Necessary to Understand This Emerging World Power.

Have you ever realized that your knowledge of world history is focused on Western Europe and North America and that you know so little about the East that you couldn't fill in a simple timeline of China's history with a handful of its most significant events and leaders? One of the challenges to accomplishing this simple goal is that China's history spans thousands of years and includes the lives of billions of people. However, this challenge is also why it is important to fill in this gap in our knowledge because China has become an important factor in world politics and in our everyday lives.The purpose of this book is to pick a handful of characteristics, people, and events that is small enough in number to be remembered but important enough to shape today's China--it is a framework upon which you can add more knowledge in the future.The events and lives of key individuals are related to the events happening in the West that you might already know about in order to provide context and comparison. For example, you will learn about the boy-king who, like Alexander the Great, conquered an empire but unlike Alexander, the Empire still exists intact along with one of the largest and richest tombs in the world. You will also learn about the Muslim eunuch who commanded a treasure fleet that toured the Eastern oceans decades before Columbus and the largest civil war in history lead by a man who believed himself to be Jesus' younger brother. In this book, you will learn about Chinese version of the Boston Tea Party and the following war that resulted in the greatest art crime in history.As you discover this fascinating history, you will often find yourself asking; "How is it possible that I never heard about any of this?" You will be learning about events that are common knowledge to every Chinese child and which shape their attitudes toward the West.