Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 Lao's review February 26, 2001
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is one of my earliest and most valuable finds, an excellent resource for the study and/or reenactment of the period. The first several chapters detail city life, social classes, housing, cooking and personal grooming. The later chapters cover the broader subjects of life cycle (birth, marriage and death rituals), and the yearly cycle (festivals, religions observances). Detailed and well footnoted.
Wonderful details June 14, 2007
Walter B. Stahr (Vienna, Virginia USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The title of this book suggests that it is a dry account of ancient history. It is anything but; it is a fascinating account of daily life in China almost 800 years ago. As one of the other reviewers points out, one of the major themes of the book is that China changed over time, not only in response to invasions, but due to internal forces as well. A great book.
Don't miss the story of this prosperous Chinese city March 19, 2010
Paul Tsang (Hong Kong)
History books in Greater China usually depict Southern Song as a weak Dynasty having one half of the land annexed by Jin (Chin), and later defeated completely by the Mongols. Weak except on the literary side, the people, perhaps cultured and fun-loving, but more on the "decadent" side, as judged by historians of Confucius bend. It is therefore a great found reading this comprehensive account on daily life of Chinese people, high and low, in this most prosperous city, with more objective facts and analysis. The book focused on the city of Hangzhou, the capital and the most populous and affluent city of the world. Written in easy-to-follow language, and based on abundance of written materials with many reference to accounts given by the famous Marco Polo and a Japanese traveler/writer, the book revealed, including, a detail account of the city planning (such as the highly organized fire-fighting brigades), the bath houses (cold water bath for Chinese, for health benefit purpose, and warm water for foreigners); the newly-rich merchants (with professionals forming various guilds, and varieties of servants/entertainers/prostitutes moving into this already crowded city to serve them), and the peasants (the poorest had to sell their kids during bad time) who had to suffer from one of the most brutal justice system in world history - in addition, worsen by being brutalized and biased against in court, being the illiterate and poor, as in all Chinese history).
The book also mentioned the low-status of the military, with the elites flocking to take public exam leading to lucrative posts in the administration. The administration, though very corrupted (as was in all other Dynasties), actually ran effectively and efficiently.
I would like to put forward the following background information enabling a more enjoyable reading:
1. The Southern Song Dynasty was in a dynamic equilibrium with Jin (Chin) Dynasty (invader) in the North; the North held hostage of a former Song Emperor (that the Southern Song Emperor didn't have any intention to rescue, lest he would lose his throne), and a peace treaty was signed with the essence that the rich South bought peace from the North.
2. With peace and a country ruled by an administration that encouraged mercantile and cultural activities, and discouraged any temptation of military adventure, the citizens enjoyed a long period of prosperity and cultural progress.
3. Southern Song was the only Dynasty that was NOT overturned through initiative of peasant rebellions (i.e. good administration). The rise of the Mongol had indeed changed the course of Chinese history. Apparently amazed by the high culture of Southern Song, the Kublai spared the lives of the royal family, so much so, the deposed Emperor Gong was demoted, being given the title 'Duke of Ying', but was eventually exiled to Tibet where he took up a monastic life.
 Hangzhou during the Southern Song. January 30, 2004
Daniel Stroup (Chengdu, China)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Translated from the French by H.M. Wright. The overall theme of the book is to dispel the notion of a China that was immobile, and that this lack of change is what aided in the success of the Mongol invasion. From a plethora of sources, Gernet reconstructs a snapshot of how society functioned during the end of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), only a few years before the invasion. To accomplish this task the book looks at a twenty-six year period (1250-1276), focusing on the Southern Song capital, Hangzhou, and its immediate surrounding areas. Areas of exploration include Hangzhou's social makeup (the upper classes, the merchants [which had increasingly gained importance], and the lower classes) to even details on clothing, cooking, festivals, and leisure hours.The book overall is facinating in its detail and in the subject matter the author chose to explore. Many of the subjects have not been written about since, so there are still many avenues for further research. It has to be pointed out here that in light of the recent scholarly debates questioning the validity over Marco Polo's writings (see: Frances Woods, 1998 ; US News and World Report, 7/24/00), the quotes used in the book must be looked upon with this in mind. Gernet even points out that a few of the quotes he used in the book did not correspond with Chinese sources of the time (pp. 36, 47). Although Gernet shows us a glimpse of Southern Song daily life, one with any knowledge of daily life in today's China will notice certain similarities between the two. The growth in mercantilism, rural to urban mass migration, the great disparity between the rich and poor, the popularity of prostitution and other promiscuous behavior all can be found in both societies. One cannot help but walk away from a reading of this book and contemplate how China would have been today if it were not for the Mongol invasion, which halted the birth of a "modern China", centuries before the West. However, this Chinese modernization would have been far different from the West's given the way Chinese society is constructed, which has lent value to a person only within his/her social relations and has lacked any emancipation of the individual, (the cornerstone of modern Europe).
Fascinatingly detailed August 8, 2009
C. Low (Nusantara)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What a wonderful book! It could do with some help in the format and layout, and the sentences tend to get too long and convoluted (was that the way to write in the 1960s???)
It was researched to fascinating detail, taken from various sources like artworks and documents, to give a vivid picture of the bustling life of Hangzhou during the Song period. It brilliantly covers the multi-varied life in the cosmopolitan city - food, customs, celebration, beliefs, occupations, housing, architecture, townspeople, royal family etc. An engaging read, despite the convoluted sentences. I find it fairly understandable too, the author explains things quite well, and generally doesn't presume that the readers have a lot of background to Chinese history. Not a dry read at all. I love this book.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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