Ebook: The Soul of China: An Interpretation of Chinese History

"The Soul of China" by Amaury de Riencourt is a philosophical analysis of Chinese history from the second millennium BC to the present. Beginning with the Shang Dynasty which originated the first elements of Chinese higher culture, the author encompasses all successive epochs of China's evolution, resulting in the longest continuous civilisation in history. He draws comparison with other ancient and emerging cultures and civilisations and includes the violent Mongol invasion under Genghis and Kublai Khan. The fatal collision with the West contributed to the collapse of the old civilisation, the spread of the Marxist -Leninist ideology and the unification of China under Communism. De Riencourt then analyses the collapse of the Communist Party's structure and the reconstruction of China.