Le informazioni nella sezione "Riassunto" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
Jonathan Spence is Stirling Professor of History at Yale University. His many acclaimed books on China include ‘The Search for Modern China’, ‘The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci’, ‘The Gate of Heavenly Peace’ and ‘To Change China’. His two most recent books, ‘God’s Chinese Son’ and ‘The Chinese Century’, are published by HarperCollins.
The Taiping rebellion in mid-nineteenth-century China was one of the strangest and most violent events in human history. It was led by Hong Xiuquan, a failed civil servant from a peasant family who was convinced by a dream that he was the son of the Christian God, entrusted with the task of saving the world, and was to cost at least twenty million lives. The basic outline of this bizarre rebellion is a matter of historical record: Hong's fiery preaching, which drew to him a fanatical army of followers, the battles, massacres and sieges by which they established power over a vast area of northern China; Hong's eleven-year rule over his 'Heavenly Kingdom' from his capital Nanjing, lolling on a golden sedan chair carried by concubines and playing his worshippers off against each other, the eventual demoralisation of his formerly invincible army, whose leaders by now included a motley collection of foreign mercenaries; a succession of defeats, the siege of Nanjing and the increasingly deluded and tyrannical Hong's death by poison. It is a titanic story.
To this Jonathan Spence adds insights into the minds of the participants – Hong in particular – and an immediacy in the unfolding of the narrative which makes 'God's Chinese Son' unlike any other history book of recent years. The book is a revelation both in its intimate detail and its grand scale, a work of tremendous force, with all the passion, drama and intensity of a great novel.
"Crammed with passion and violence and odd moments of humour. It reads like a great novel, and once again confirms that Jonathan Spence is the great literary historian of China writing in English today.”
LINDA JAIVIN, 'Australian'
"Combines scrupulous scholarship and a vivid imagination. The result is enthralling."
SIMON SCOTT PLUMMER, 'The Tablet'
"Irresistible... magnificent."
MARIE ARANA-WARD, 'Washington Post'
Le informazioni nella sezione "Su questo libro" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
Spese di spedizione:
GRATIS
In U.S.A.
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: New. Brand New. 100% Money Back Guarantee! Ships within 1 business day, includes tracking. Carefully packed. Successful business for 25 Years!. Codice articolo mon0000002686