Review: China Between Empires: The Northern and Southern Dynasties

China Between Empires: The Northern and Southern Dynasties by Mark Edward Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second volume of the History of Imperial China series and is a good follow-up to the first volume- the Qin and Han Dynasty volume. This volume looks at what happens to China after the Han dynasty and before the Tang dynasty could re-establish stability for a few centuries. The period is distinguished by smaller kingdoms, vying for control and by a burst of cultural creativity.

The structure of the book is similar to the first volume- analytical rather than narrative. That does mean that it is easy to lose track of the chronology, especially in a period as confused as this one. Lewis does keep the sense of continuity, but it can still be confusing to a novice.

This is worth reading and I'm already plotting to get the Tang Dynasty volume and continue the story.

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