(Part 2) Top products from r/ChineseHistory

If you are interested in military history, I strongly recommend Arthur Waldron's The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth. http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Wall-China-original/dp/052142707X

The Ming were the dynasty that built the Great Wall. Waldron explains at great length what drove them to do so - why they decided to build walls to face the nomad threat instead of follow other common strategies (trade networks, Heqin-type alliance, all out war).

Edward Dryer has a neat book about Zheng He, the Ming minister whose fleet sailed across the Indian ocean and to Africa http://www.amazon.com/Zheng-He-Dynasty-1405-1433-Biography/dp/0321084438/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381479732&sr=1-2&keywords=zheng+he

And if you like social history, then Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in the Ming is the go-to book. http://www.amazon.com/Confusions-Pleasure-Commerce-Culture-China/dp/0520221540/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381479790&sr=1-1&keywords=confusions+of+pleasure

I have not read this last one, but others in th eknow tell me it is the best place to start.

Well, the Cambridge History of China is a great resource, but I don't know if you can find that in eBook form or not. Those tomes cover just about everything you'd need.

If you're interested in modern Chinese history, The Search for Modern China is an excellent book.

For the Song dynasty: The Age of Confucian Rule, and Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion. Just remember that the books can't cover everything, so occasionally they oversimply - particularly Kuhn's book and its overemphasis on Confucianism.

Oh, and one more recommendation for now: the Shi Ji (Records of the Grand Historian).

I’ve been reading the The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China by Philip Ball. From memory it touches on this regarding the Yellow and Yangzi in early chapters. Hope this helps 🙂

John Keay is pretty awesome

The Sextants of Beijing by Joanna Waley-Cohen.

I disagree with your statement that Min cuisine has any influence on American Chinese food. As a Fujianese immigrant I'm constantly lament lack of any Min food in American Chinese cuisines. The fact that American Chinese food is sweet is NOT a homage to Min or Yue style but fucking American sweet tooth. What people on earth would have eaten such sugar filled fried abomination as donuts?

Your statement about first wave of Chinese immigration to the US consisted of Fujianese was factually wrong. The Fujianese immigration to the US is more recent phenomenon dated from 1970s to present. Fujianese in 18th, 19th, and 20th century overwhelming emigrated to Southeast Asia. You were correct in identified Cantonese as major immigrant to the US. To be more specific these Cantonese were from Taishan. To be even more specific they were from four counties within Sze Yup.

I also disagree with your statement that American-Chinese food is not reflective of Chinese cuisine. American-Chinese food was heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine but also heavily modified to American palates. It might not satisfy purist's taste, but to consider American-Chinese food not to be part of Chinese cuisine was an inane statement. Hell, do you even consider Pizza to be Italian food? How about meatballs and spaghetti? Do they also need to be made by a living breathing Italian in Italy before it can be considered to be Italian food?

Food change, language change and everything change with distance and time. You don't have to like it, but there's nothing wrong with change.



> American-Chinese places serve dumplings with soy sauce, which is an abomination and unheard of in China.

You have eaten your way from Harbin/Qiqihar to Shenzhen, seriously? You never saw soy sauce with dumplings? Did you even traveled to China?

I would suggest you get off your mighty "imma authethic chinese food connoisseur" horse and educate yourself before making so many ignorant statements again.


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