Paul S. Ropp. China in World History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. xvi + 184 pp.
$74.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-19-517073-3; $19.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-19-538195-5.
Reviewed by David Buck (University of Wisconsin=Milwaukee)
Published on H-Asia (January, 2011)
Commissioned by Sumit Guha
Fitting China into World History
ties, he does not emphasize the dynastic cycle of a strong
founder followed by able early rulers, and leading to a
plateau of moderate and less capable emperors, sometimes interrupted by a short revival, but inevitably leading to dynastic collapse.
Oxford University Press has embarked on a major effort to produce works suited for world history classes.
They have in print a dozen titles, with others in preparation, in The New Oxford World History series edited
by Bonnie G. Smith and Anand Yang. Paul S. Ropp’s volume on China joins a group within this series that uses
world regions as the main topic. Craig Lockard’s Southeast Asia in World History (2009) is another example of
this approach. Other studies use a period of history, such
as John E. Wills Jr.’s The World from 1450 to 1700 (2009),
or examine a general topic in detail, such as Daniel Headrick’s Technology in World History (2009). The volumes,
published both in hardcover and paperback, are aimed
primarily at the textbook market, but also can serve as
brief introductions to an area, a time period, or a general
theme. Each runs about two hundred pages including ancillary material, such as timelines, notes, black and white
illustrations, maps, suggested further reading, and an index.
A recurring problem with general textbooks on Chinese history is the “one dammed dynasty after another”
fatigue that students and readers experience. Ropp, a
Distinguished Professor of History at Clark University,
has worked hard to avoid that pitfall by emphasizing international influences, especially from the nomadic peoples to China’s north and west, and detailing distinctive
characteristics of particular periods, such as the Ming
(1368-1644) creativity in porcelain and the early fifteenthcentury great naval armadas. Ropp builds on key features
of each era or dynasty, and, as a result, students should
have less trouble differentiating the Tang, the Song, and
other dynasties. Downplaying the dynastic cycle also
helps in this effort.
Ropp’s contribution is gracefully written, fast paced,
and organized around the standard periodization of Chinese history, into periods of unity and division with unity
being the dominant pattern. He selects four distinctive
characteristics for Chinese history: intensive agriculture,
which he sees as providing “a strong impetus for population growth” (p. xiv); state organization of large-scale
projects, including irrigation, walls, and canals; emphasis
on extended family relations and ancestor worship; and
finally, an optimistic and humanistic view of the world.
Although Ropp discusses in detail the different dynas-
Ropp devotes two-thirds of the text to Chinese history before 1800. His chapters on the period of disunion
(220-589) and the Sui and Tang (618-907) are particularly
strong. Wisely for an introductory history, Ropp gives
colorful descriptions of key rulers. He also introduces
material that shows a clear pattern of evolution by discussing technological advances, changes in agriculture
and trade, and growth of population and appearance of
larger cities. His twenty pages on the People’s Republic
of China is an excellent summary. This and other chap-
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H-Net Reviews
ters are well suited to an evening’s assigned reading for
beginning students.
shows how trade in Chinese objects shaped European
taste and daily life.
Although Ropp’s title indicates that he is placing
China in the context of world history, he stays away
from some of the most provocative scholarship linking
Chinese and world history. For example, he does not introduce Andre Gunner Frank’s thesis that China’s insatiable demand for New World silver bolstered the European economy from the sixteenth century onward (ReORIENT: Global Economy in the Asia Age [1998]), or Timothy Brook’s marvelous Vermeer’s Hat: The Seventeenth
Century and the Dawn of the Global World (2008), which
There now are a good many choices of introductory
books on Chinese history. Patricia Ebrey’s Cambridge Illustrated History of China (2nd edition, 2010) is twice the
length and beautifully illustrated, while well-established
texts, such as Conrad Shirokauer’s A Brief History of Chinese Civilization (2nd edition, 2006), remain serviceable,
but Ropp’s is particularly well written and presented. It
should have a long life as a classroom text and also can
be recommended as a good short introduction to Chinese
history for the general reader.
If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at:
https://networks.h-net.org/h-asia
Citation: David Buck. Review of Ropp, Paul S., China in World History. H-Asia, H-Net Reviews. January, 2011.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=32184
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoncommercialNo Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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