The Dark History of China. From Ancient Dynasties to the Communist Party

The Mongols who attacked in the 13th century, the Manchu conquerors in the 17th century, and much later the Japanese in Nanjing in 1937 created real slaughter, destroying hundreds of thousands of Chinese men, women, and children. But China did not always need opponents to create its own darkness. There are whole periods in Chinese history when the country shook from unending civil wars, one of which was called — the Era of Warring States. However, the Three Kingdoms period was even worse. Then in the mid-20th century, the most brutal and bloody war occurred between communists and nationalists. China’s “Great Leap Forward” from 1958 to 1962 and the famine that followed cost the country tens of millions of lives, while the “Cultural Revolution” from 1966 to 1976 also brought about many deaths. The history of China has many dark pages, some dark in themselves, others already legends passed down orally. “The Dark History of China” offers a uncompromising and engaging narrative about one of the oldest and most resilient civilizations in the world, from the brutal tyrant Zhou of the second millennium BC to the suppression of the Uyghur minority today. In telling the story, the author touches on many themes: from barbarian invasions, the Battle of Red Cliffs, and foot binding to the Opium Wars, the last emperor Puyi, and internet censorship in the 21st century. At the same time, Michael Kerrigan gives a harsh assessment of modern China's policies, especially in the narratives about the history of the PRC, which reflects a contemporary trend in business, expert, and journalistic circles in Western countries.