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Start giftingThe Shortest History of China
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreFrom kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk, China has influenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics and philosophy across the world for thousands of years.
Chinese history is nothing if not messy. Heroes are also villains; prosperity mingles with violence; cultural vibrancy coexists with censorship and repression. Modern China is seen variously as an economic powerhouse, an icon of urbanization, a propaganda state and an aggressive superpower seeking world domination.
Jaivin distills this vast history into a sparkling narrative, from mythical origins to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a story in which China's women, from the earliest warriors to 20th-century suffragettes, receive long overdue attention.
As historical specters of corruption and disunity continue to haunt the People's Republic, Jaivin discusses what may lie ahead—not just for China but for the world.
Linda Jaivin is an American-born, internationally published Australian essayist, novelist, translator, and specialist writer on China. Her books include The Monkey and the Dragon, the city profile Beijing, and several China-based novels. Her essays have appeared in a wide range of publications in Australia and beyond. She has previously lived, studied, and worked in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Beijing.
Nancy Wu has done voice-over animation and narrated audiobooks since 2004. A New York theater, TV, and film actor, she has won multiple Library Journal and AudioFile Earphones Awards, and recorded in studios all over the world-from Italy to Switzerland to Thailand. Narrating across genres, she is known for varied character voices and bringing stories vividly to life. Born and raised in West Virginia, she now makes her home in Boulder, Colorado, as an avid yoga practitioner and rock climber. Her television/film credits include the Law & Order franchise, All My Children, the Oscar-nominated film Frozen River, and the Nickelodeon series Three Delivery. She studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City and holds a master's degree in human rights.