China's Last Empire: The Great Qing (History of Imperial China)

The Great Qing History by William Rowe is a groundbreaking book that challenges the traditional narrative of Qing China as a decadent, inward-looking state.

This revised history reveals the incredible expansion of the Chinese realm under Qing rule, including the conquest and incorporation of Turkic and Tibetan peoples, vast migration into the southwest, and colonization of Taiwan.

Despite its geographic reach and social complexity, the Qing ideal of "small government" worked well when outside threats were minimal.

However, the nineteenth-century Opium Wars and internal rebellions signaled a need for reform.

Comprehensive state-mandated changes in the early twentieth century laid the foundation for the Republican and Communist states that followed.

This original and thought-provoking history is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand China's challenges today.