Jing Liu - Barbarians and the Birth of Chinese Identity: The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms to the Yuan Dynasty (907-1368) (Understanding China Through Comics)

Published by
STONE BRIDGE PRESS
P.O. Box 8208 Berkeley, California 94707
TEL 510-524-8732

Text and illustrations 2017 Jing Liu.

First edition, 2017.

Book design and layout by Linda Ronan.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the
publisher.

Printed in the United States of America.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Liu, Jing (Author of graphic novels), author, illustrator.

Title: Foundations of Chinese civilization / Jing Liu.

Description: First edition. | Berkeley : Stone Bridge Press, 2016. | Series:

Understanding China through comics | Includes bibliographical references

and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016009755 (print) | LCCN 2016012382 (ebook) | ISBN

9781611720273 (alk. paper) | ISBN 9781611729184 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: ChinaHistoryComic books, strips, etc. | Graphic novels.

Classification: LCC DS735 .L576 2016 (print) | LCC DS735 (ebook) | DDC

931dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016009755

pISBN 978-1-61172-034-1

eISBN 978-1-61172-926-9

CONTENTS

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period begins

Khitan tribes establish the Liao dynasty

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period ends and Song dynasty

established

1038 Tangut tribes establish the Western Xia dynasty

1069 Wang Anshi begins New Policy reforms

1081 Song dynasty launches invasion of Xia dynasty

1115 Jurchen tribes establish Jin dynasty

1125 Liao dynasty collapses

1127 Southern Song dynasty established

1141 Jin and Southern Song dynasties sign Treaty of Shaoxing

1200 Zhu Xi, a Neo-Confucian philosopher, dies

1206 Temujin takes title of Genghis Khan after uniting Mongol tribes

1211 Mongols defeat Jin dynasty at Battle of Badger Mouth

1227 Xia dynasty collapses

1234 Jin dynasty collapses

1257 Mongols launch invasion of Southern Song dynasty

1271 Yuan dynasty established by Kublai Khan

1279 Yuan and Southern Song dynasties meet at Battle of Yamen

Southern Song dynasty collapses

1281 Yuan dynasty launches invasion of Japan

1294 Kublai Khan dies

1295 Marco Polo returns to Italy

1351 Rebellions against Yuan dynasty

TIMELINE

INTRODUCTION

Trying to disentangle, let alone under- stand, the long history of China is not for the faint of heart. The labyrinth of Chinese dynasties, intertwined ethnici- ties, and gigantic land mass can put off the adventurer to this fascinating nation. We need help to explore and explain how this country came to be. Jing Liu has done us a great service in his Under- standing China through Comics series. Not only has he made Chinas history ac- cessible to us, but he has done so with both wit and charm. On top of that, he has offered us lively visual and concrete vignettes that stick in the mind, map- ping pivotal events in space and time.

In Volume 3, Barbarians and the Birth of Chinese Identity, Jing Liu continues to lead us on this expedition to discover

what historical treasures lie beneath the dust of Chinese history. We discover the vibrant life of the middle period of the China storythe Northern and South- ern Song dynasties, and the invasion and conquests by the Mongols under Genghis Khan and his descendants. This formative period was racked by wars, but at the same time, and as we watch in these pages, it produced innovation, commerce, and cultural accomplish- ments that defined the Chinese nation. Dive into the history of this period. You will not be disappointed.

David M Jacobson, historian,
quarter-century resident of China,
foreign expert for the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences and Northeast
Normal University

Previously in Understanding China Through Comics | 7

8 | BARBARIANS AND THE BIRTH OF CHINESE IDENTITY

Previously in Understanding China Through Comics | 9

10 | BARBARIANS AND THE BIRTH OF CHINESE IDENTITY

Previously in Understanding China Through Comics | 11

12 | BARBARIANS AND THE BIRTH OF CHINESE IDENTITY

Previously in Understanding China Through Comics | 13

14 | BARBARIANS AND THE BIRTH OF CHINESE IDENTITY

16 | BARBARIANS AND THE BIRTH OF CHINESE IDENTITY

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, 907 960 | 17

18 | BARBARIANS AND THE BIRTH OF CHINESE IDENTITY