Story of China

Historian Michael Wood takes the viewer on a long and winding journey through the incredible history of China. He shows how China has survived through numerous booms and busts over the centuries, and how the "Mandate of Heaven" has been used to support the rulers and system of government since the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE). Spread over six hour-long episodes, Wood starts with "Ancestors", attending the Qin family reunion where three hundred relatives gather to worship their ancestors and explore their roots. Wood shows evidence of the early Chinese state, including China's first writing which was found on "oracle bones" from the Shang royal tombs at Anyang in the 1920s. And, Wood highlights the Age of Philosophers and Confucius, whose iconic book "Analects" may have had greater influence than the Bible. Next, in "Silk Roads And China Ships" Wood tells the tale of China's first great international age under the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It's move towards being an economic powerhouse started with the construction of the Grand Canal, a gigantic lock built in 605 which still handles over eight hundred barges every day. These engineering achievements helped create the rise of the highly profitable silk and tea industries. Third, "The Golden Age" describes the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Wood heads to the long lost city of Kaifeng, apparently the greatest city in the world before the nineteenth century. He highlights China's most famous work of art - the Kaifeng scroll - which represents the daily life of the city in roughly 1120. The Song was also a defining era for scientific advance in China, and Wood examines a gigantic working replica of an astronomical clock made by China's answer to Leonardo da Vinci. Then at a loud and blaring Chinese football match, Wood produces evidence to suggest that the Chinese invented the original form of football. "The Ming" begins with the unbelievable story of Hongwu, a peasant rebel who founded one of greatest eras in Chinese history. His created the wondrous capital city Nanjing, with over twenty miles of city walls. The Ming were obsessive about architecture, and Wood highlights the giant fortifications of the Great Wall, the inner parts of the Forbidden City in Beijing and travels with a bargeman down the Grand Canal. Wood describes the adventures of Admiral Zheng's voyages to Africa and the Gulf decades before Christopher Columbus. In "The Last Empire" the Qing (1644 to 1912), China doubled in size to include Xinjiang in the west, as well as Mongolia and Tibet, creating the shape of modern China. Wood describes the influence of the British with the Opium Wars, when a British expedition destroyed the Qing navy and extracted lots of territory and large trading rights. Among the ports China ceded was the tiny backwater called Hong Kong and the small fishing town of Shanghai - now two of the greatest cities in world. Wood says "Every dynasty has risen and declined and has needed new life to regenerate, and this time the catalyst was the British." Finally, "In The Age Of Revolution" as imperial China weakened, a wide range of foreign influences grew. Treaty ports expanded rapidly, increasing growth and wealth, trams, railways and western culture. But this provoked the violent Boxer Rebellion - an attack against the foreigners, which was brutally crushed by the British and others. Then in 1912, the empire fell forever, and many different groups contested China's future. In World War I, China sent many men to fight, but were disgraced and cheated at Versailles when German colonies in China were handed to Japan. Wood ends the story with Mao's death and the meteoric economic boom time of the last thirty years. It is difficult to think how Wood could have bettered this effort at telling the story of China. In one way it is surprising how supportive his critique and analysis of China is - he rarely suggests China or it's leaders have done anything wrong. This is a refreshing approach as the history of all countries in the world have their good and bad parts.

It is a excellent documentary about the oldest unified country in the world. One of the best bits when it comes to this program just like he did with the program he did about India he makes the documentary the way the viewer wants and he does the by talking to people and listening to them and one moment that he does this well is when a family whos members travel to pay their respects to their ancestors and he asks them questions and their insights on why they do it and how does it make them feel as well and how long this tradition has been done and also its history and I found him to be respectful and he made them feel comfortable and respected which made them want to be informative and helpful and he does this with all of the people he interviews and did the same thing with his excellent documentary on India. He travels all around China and gives the watcher a better understanding on how this country which is going to be the largest economy in the world by the end of the decade become what it is and by watching this documentary you can get a clearer and more broader understanding of what China thinks about it self and its identity. I would recommend this program and if you like this you will like the same sort of program he did on India,

A beautifully made series as you would expect from the BBC and Michael Wood. It is stunning visually and presented in a very accessible fashion. There is fantastic use of specific examples that must have been the result of extensive research, helping to humanise the complex story. It was not perfect though. I thought most of the programmes tended to gloss over the dire living conditions of the majority of the people. I found the final programme frustrating. The History of the 20th century has been so drastic and crucial that devoting less than one programme to it simply was not enough, particularly the very limited coverage of the disastrous Cultural Revolution, as the programme did not convey the proper horror of it. Overall though this was a very successful series.

I watched all the episodes on the BBC recently and enjoyed them so much that I decided to buy the DVD so that I can keep the whole collection for life and watch it again whenever I wish. I have watched many historical documentaries on the TV and indeed many other ones about China even but this one with Michael Wood is the best one that I have ever seen. Every moment of each episode held my attention and captivated me totally. It is obvious that so much hard work has been put into the production of the whole series and, in addition to the beautiful imagery and the passionate way in which the history is narrated with great attention to every minute detail, the background music is also particularly beautiful.

Excellent - really excellent.

Michael Wood tells a very good story and this book was engaging throughout. It goes well with his TV series, which I watched in tandem. I particularly liked his emphasis on the cultural history of China (the poets) and prominent female figures in Chinese history. A wonderful eye-opener in many respects, and underlined for me how little we in the West know about this huge and ancient civilisation.

As usual Michael Wood is an engaging presenter. His depth of knowledge is outstanding. However, there are times when you feel as though the Chinese authorities are carefully guiding him in the direction of the story THEY want told. Still, it is an excellent background to the turbulent birth of the Chinese nation and gives some fascinating insights into this country and its history.

POOR LAST TTHREE EPISODES-NO MENTION OF CIXI, DOWAGER EMPRESS OF CHINA (1835-1908) WHO ORGANISED RESISTANCE TO TAIPING REBELLION AND BOXER REBELLION AND WHO LAUNCHED CHINA INTO THE MODERN AGE. DISAPPOINTING AND ILL INFORMED. PITY ABOUT HIS CONSTANT INANE GRIN!