Longman / Prentice Hall

History

Browse available resources for World History:



Wu Zhao: China's Only Female Emperor
N. Harry Rothschild, University of North Florida
Peter Stearns

ISBN-10: 0321394267
ISBN-13: 9780321394262

Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2008
Format: Paper; 256 pp
Published: 12/18/2007

Suggested retail price: $20.67
Buy from myPearsonStore



This new entry in the Longman Library of World Biography series offers the compelling story of Wu Zhao - one woman’s unlikely and remarkable ascent to the apex of political power in the patriarchal society of traditional China.

 

Wu Zhao, Woman Emperor of China is the account of the first and only female emperor in China’s history. Set in vibrant, multi-ethnic Tang China, this biography chronicles Wu Zhao’s humble beginnings as the daughter of a provincial official, following her path to the inner palace, where she improbably rose from a fifth-ranked concubine to becoming Empress. Using clever Buddhist rhetoric, grandiose architecture, elegant court rituals, and an insidious network of “cruel officials” to cow her many opponents in court, Wu Zhao inaugurated a new dynasty in 690, the Zhou. She ruled as Emperor for fifteen years, proving eminently competent in the arts of governance, deftly balancing factions in court, staving off the encroachment of Turks and Tibetans, and fostering the state’s economic growth.

  • A focus on gender politics gives students a nuanced perspective of the traditional roles of women in Chinese society as well as the untraditional path of Wu Zhao herself.
  • An inside look at the imperial court provides details on the machinations of the government and the role of the emperor as well as life within the inner palace, the domain of eunuchs and concubines.
  • A focus on religion examines the political effects of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.

Author’s Preface: What’s in a Source?                                     

Acknowledgements                                                                             

A Note Regarding Names                                                                    

 

Chapter 1    What’s in a Name?                                          

Chapter 2    Historical Preconditions for the Ascent of a Female Emperor: Steppe Culture, the Silk Road and Buddhism

Chapter 3    From the Sichuan Countryside to the Inner Palace                       

Chapter 4    Empress Wu: A Changing of the Guard  

Chapter 5    The Two Sages                                                 

Chapter 6    Celestial Empress and Grand Dowager      

Chapter 7    Wu Zhao as Lover: Lady of Perfect Satisfaction

Chapter 8    Sage Mother Rising                                                       

Chapter 9    Queen of Terror                                                

Chapter 10  Bodhisattva of Mercy                            

Chapter 11  Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty              

Chapter 12  Octogenarian in Retreat: Succession, Factionalism and Craneriding in the Final Years                

Conclusion  The Vain Quest for Wu Zhao               

 

Glossary of Characters and Terms                                                       

Notes on the Sources              

Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students, contact your Pearson Higher Education representative for pricing and ordering information.

This title is a member of the Library of World Biography, which also contains the titles below . You can also visit the Library of World Biography page.

    This new entry into the Longman World Biography series examines a leading statesman who guided a key country during a pivotal time in history.  Al-Mansur was a man of contradictions whose policies combined a vision of the future with a longing for the past; by building one state, he destroyed another.

  • 0321250443Ahmad al-Mansur: Islamic Visionary (Library of World Biography Series)
    Smith
    © 2006 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 160 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321250443 | ISBN-13: 9780321250445
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This biography follows the brilliant life of Alexander the Great, who established in Eurasia the largest empire ever seen and left a world legacy.

    The titles in the Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History and Western Civilization survey courses as well as other courses in the history curriculum where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of World history. At the same time, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

    This biography traces the life and legacy of Alexander the Great from its beginnings through his successful conquests to his legacy. The story of Alexander provides students a glimpse of the inner workings of society, politics, family, and life in ancient times as well as presenting a fascinating story Alexander himself, his conquests, the resulting interchange of culture between East and West, and the continuing fascination and world legacy which follows Alexander to this day, presenting some unique aspects for the study of World History.

  • 0321086171Alexander the Great: Legacy of a Conqueror (Library of World Biography Series)
    Adams
    © 2005 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 208 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321086171 | ISBN-13: 9780321086174
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This new addition to the Longman World Biography series integrates the latest scholarship on the life of Mussolini with the story of Italian Fascism.

     

    Combines the story of Mussolini, the man, with the story of Italian Fascism. Explores the larger legacy of Mussolini outside of Europe and since 1945. Situates Fascism in a global context and exposes students to debates on historical interpretation. Provides students with a comparative framework for understanding European Fascism.

     

  • 0321095871Benito Mussolini: The First Fascist (Library of World Biography Series)
    Cardoza
    © 2006 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 208 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321095871 | ISBN-13: 9780321095879
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This biography traces the career of Fukuzawa Yûkichi, who began life as a lower-level samurai and went on to become one of the leading figures in Japan as it entered the modern era and became an industrial power.

    The titles in the Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History survey courses or other courses in the history curriculum that explore figures in history. Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of world history. At the same time, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

    Fukuzawa Yûkichi, one of Japan's best-known figures of the later half of the Nineteenth Century, broke the restrictive bonds of the Tokugawa samurai system and in his lifetime gained fame as a writer and interpreter of Western thought and customs, an educator who founded a famous university, a journalist and owner of an influential newspaper, a supporter of women's rights, and an entrepreneur with extensive and important economic influence. Although he embraced much from Western thought, he never let go of his early Confucian training. Fukuzawa never entered public office, but his influence among those who did was striking. He became a revered figure of the century, and is immortalized on the ten thousand yen bill, the largest currency denomination. The story of Fukuzawa's life takes place during a pivotal period in Japanese history, as the country was becoming an industrial power and moving toward nationhood.

  • 0321078020Fukuzawa Yukichi: From Samurai to Capitalist (Library of World Biography Series)
    Hopper
    © 2005 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 176 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321078020 | ISBN-13: 9780321078025
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This biography highlights the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and his work founding the Jesuit order during the Reformation Era.

    The titles in the new Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History survey courses or other courses in the history curriculum where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of World history, and relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

  • 032108618XIgnatius of Loyola: Founder of the Jesuits (Library of World Biography Series)
    Donnelly
    © 2004 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 208 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 032108618X | ISBN-13: 9780321086181
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This biography traces the career of Frenchman Jacques Coeur, royal official, merchant, and financier, amidst war and exploration in Fifteenth-Century Europe, and invites readers to consider Coeur's career against a broad historical context.

    The titles in the Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History survey courses or other courses in the history curriculum where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of World history, and relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

    This biography traces the career of Jacques Coeur as a royal official, merchant, bursar, a supply officer catering to the needs of the royal household, and powerful financier to Charles the VII (1422-1461), amidst war and exploration in Fifteenth-Century Europe, and invites the reader to consider Coeur's career from its high point as one of the richest and most powerful men in France to his startling downfall, disgrace, and banishment against the broad historical background of the Fifteenth Century, a transitional time between the traditional medieval period and the early modern era.

  • 032108537XJacques Coeur: Entrepreneur and King's Bursar (Library of World Biography Series)
    Reyerson
    © 2005 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 224 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 032108537X | ISBN-13: 9780321085375
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • Katô Shidzue, one of the first Japanese women activists, represents the successes and failures of Japan's activist women in the postwar period and the relationship of these women to the United States, Europe, and to international engagement.

    The titles in the new Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History survey courses or other courses in the history curriculum where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of World history, and relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

  • 0321078047Kato Shidzue: A Japanese Feminist (Library of World Biography Series)
    Hopper
    © 2004 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 224 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321078047 | ISBN-13: 9780321078049
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This biography highlights the political career and principles of South American revolutionary Simón Bolívar.

    The titles in the new Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History survey courses or other courses in the history curriculum where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of World history, and relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

  • 0321156676Simon Bolivar: Liberation and Disappointment (Library of World Biography Series)
    Bushnell
    © 2004 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 208 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321156676 | ISBN-13: 9780321156679
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This biography traces the dramatic life and career of Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer whose voyages played a pivotal role in expanding the Portuguese empire and creating an impressive Asian spice trade during the age of exploration in the 15th and 16th century.

    The titles in the Library of World Biography series make ideal supplements for World History survey courses or other courses in the history curriculum where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of World history. At the same time, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

    Deified by some and vilified by others, Vasco Da Gama was born a minor noble who rose to a position of great wealth, prestige, and power during the golden age of Portuguese maritime exploration in the 15th and 16th century. He played a pivotal role in expanding the Portuguese Empire along the west coast of Africa, India, and eventually the entire Indian Ocean through his expeditions bringing back valuable spices from Asia. His epic first voyage to India from 1497-1499 was a seminal event in developing the beginnings of the global economy and society in which we live today. Da Gama was a new type of crusader who sought both riches and the conversion of those he encountered to Christianity. In his travels and in court life, da Gama demonstrated a single-minded zeal in navigating complex situations sometimes with brutal force. Many of the economic, political, and religious issues that confronted da Gama have contemporary relevance today.

  • 0321092821Vasco da Gama: Renaissance Crusader (Library of World Biography Series)
    Ames
    © 2005 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 192 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321092821 | ISBN-13: 9780321092823
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This new entry in the Longman Library of World Biography series offers the compelling story of Wu Zhao - one woman’s unlikely and remarkable ascent to the apex of political power in the patriarchal society of traditional China.

     

    Wu Zhao, Woman Emperor of China is the account of the first and only female emperor in China’s history. Set in vibrant, multi-ethnic Tang China, this biography chronicles Wu Zhao’s humble beginnings as the daughter of a provincial official, following her path to the inner palace, where she improbably rose from a fifth-ranked concubine to becoming Empress. Using clever Buddhist rhetoric, grandiose architecture, elegant court rituals, and an insidious network of “cruel officials” to cow her many opponents in court, Wu Zhao inaugurated a new dynasty in 690, the Zhou. She ruled as Emperor for fifteen years, proving eminently competent in the arts of governance, deftly balancing factions in court, staving off the encroachment of Turks and Tibetans, and fostering the state’s economic growth.

  • 0321394267Wu Zhao: China's Only Female Emperor
    Rothschild & Stearns
    © 2008 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 256 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321394267 | ISBN-13: 9780321394262
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

    • This new biography, part of Longman's World Biography series, of the Chinese explorer Zheng He sheds new light on one of the most important “what if” questions of early modern history: why a technically advanced China did not follow the same path of development as the major European powers. 

     

    Written by China scholar Edward L. Dreyer, Zheng He outlines what is known of the eunuch Zheng He’s life and describes and analyzes the early 15th century voyages on the basis of the Chinese evidence.  Locating the voyages  firmly within the context of early Ming history,itaddresses the political motives of Zheng He’s voyages and how they affected China’s exclusive attitude to the outside world in subsequent centuries.

  • 0321084438Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433 (Library of World Biography Series)
    Dreyer
    © 2007 | Prentice Hall | Paper; 256 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321084438 | ISBN-13: 9780321084439
    Brief Description | Buy from myPearsonStore

Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students, browse our available packages below, or contact your Pearson Higher Education representative to create your own package.



Copyright ©2008 Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Permissions