Books for Chinese History by Time Period

1. (Updated Sep 2023)

   
   

   1. Xia Dynasty (2100-1766 BC)
   1. The Water Dragon: A Chinese Legend. By Li Jian. This isn’t a true story, but one of the legends of China. It’s a picture book. This books is also bilingual: Chinese and English. 
   2. The Little Monkey King’s Journey by Li Jian. This tells the famous story/ legend about the Monkey King. This is a story that most people know in China. This picture book is also bilingual: Chinese and English. 
   3. Lang Jie: The Inventor of Chinese Characters. By Li Jian. This tells the story of how Chinese characters were invented. This picture book is also bilingual: Chinese and English.
   4. Shao Kang: The Emperor Who Came Back. Shao Kang’s mom ran away after his dad (the emperor) died. No one knew that the emperor had a son until 16 years later. The person that took over the country tries to get rid of Shao Kang but Shao Kang fights back to take back the country. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   2. Shang Dynasty (1766-1046 BC)
   1. Fu Hao: The Warrior Queen by Rachel Bubb. This biography is great for the primary grade level. It’s a chapter book and is available on amazon as a printed book or www.lulu.com as a printed or ebook. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   3. Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) (Western Zhou: 1046-771 and Eastern Zhou (770-256)
   1. Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC)
   2. Warring States Period (475-221 BC)
   1. Fan Li the Businessman by Rachel Bubb. This biography tells the life of one of China’s famous businessman: Fan Li. He traveled throughout China, started businesses, gave a lot of money away, helped a lot of people, and wrote a book about business. Available on Amazon as a printed book or as an ebook on www.lulu.com. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   3. Chinese History Stories from the Zhou Dynasty. Volume 1. Over 19 stories of people who lived during this time. This is actually a translation of a Chinese version of this book. It’s history told through a collection of stories. It’s great for the upper primary grades.
   4. Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC)
   1. Ming’s Adventure with the Terracotta Army. By Li Jian. This is a book about a boy who visits the Terra Cotta Soldiers but at night dreams of himself as talking with a real soldier from the Qin Dynasty. (Picture Book)
   2. Ming’s Adventure on China’s Great Wall. By Li Jian. Ming and his dad visit the Great Wall. They take a wrong turn and end up meeting all kinds of people in China’s history. This books is also bilingual: Chinese and English. (Picture Book)
   3. You Wouldn’t Want to Work on the Great Wall of China! By Jacqueline Morley. This is a funny story about the people who built the wall. (Picture Book)
   4. Chinese History: Stories from the Imperial Era. Volume 2. Stories of people who lived through the next few dynasties (starting in the Qin Dynasty). This is actually a translation of a Chinese version of this book. It’s really good- highly recommend it. It’s great for the upper grades.
   5. The Emperor Who Built the Great Wall (Once Upon a Time in China) by Jillian Lin. This is a kids’ story for really little kids about the Qin Emperor. It’s in Chinese and English. Picture Book.
   5. Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD)
   1. Cai Lun: The Creator of Paper. By Li Jian. It’s a picture book that takes place during the Han Dynasty about the person who first made paper and how he made paper. This books is also bilingual: Chinese and English.
   2. Princess Wang ZhaoJun by Rachel Bubb. This biography talks about the girl that was made a princess and married the king of the Xiongnu people in present day Inner Mongolia. Available on amazon as a printed book or as an ebook on www.lulu.com. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   3. Liu Xuan: From Prison to Emperor by Rachel Bubb. This emperor spent the first few years of his life in prison. He was later unofficially adopted by another family and became the emperor when he was only 17 years old (since he was a distant relative of the emperor). Available as a printed book on amazon or an ebook on www.lulu.com. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   6. Three Kingdoms (220-581 AD)
   1. Mulan by Li Jian. This is a story of a girl that dresses up as a boy to fight in a war. This books is also bilingual: Chinese and English. Picture Book.
   2. Zhuge Liang: The Clever General by Rachel Bubb. This biography is great for the primary grade level. It’s a chapter book and is available on amazon as a printed book or www.lulu.com as a printed or ebook. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   7. Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD)
   8. Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)
   1. Princess Wencheng by Rachel Bubb. This biography talks about the girl who was made a princess so that she could marry the king of Tibet. She made a lot of improvements in Tibet, including helping them develop an alphabet and have better methods for growing things. It’s great for primary school and is available on amazon as a printed book or on www.lulu.com as an ebook. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   9. Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960 AD)
   10. Song Dynasty (960-1271 AD)
   1. The Empress Zhangxian Mingsu. This biography tells the story of a lady that grew up as an orphan but eventually became empress of China. She was one of few ladies who ran the country during China’s history. Available as amazon as a printed book or www.lulu.com as an ebook. Great for primary school. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   2. Yue Fei: The Famous General by Rachel Bubb. This biography is great for the primary grade level. It’s a chapter book and is available on amazon as a printed book or www.lulu.com as a printed or ebook. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).
   11. Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD)
   1. Genghis Khan: The Brave Warrior Who Bridged East and West. By Li Jian. This is a picture book telling the life and story of Genghis Khan. It’s in English and Chinese. Picture Book.
   2. Kublai Khan's Gardener. This is a story about a gardener that was in charge of a forest of trees on a hill that belonged to Kublai Khan. He has different challenges finding and keeping these trees alive and has to travel occasionally to get more trees. It's available on www.inknewspaper.com or www.livingbookpress.com.
   12. Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD)
   1. Zhenghe: The Great Chinese Explorer. By Li Jian. This is a picture book about China’s most famous explorer who traveled all over Asia and also the Middle East and even Africa. This books is also bilingual: Chinese and English. Picture Book.
   2. The Great Voyages of Zheng He by Demi (author/illustrator) and Renee Ting (editor). Picture Book. 
   13. Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD)
   1. Ming’s Adventure in the Forbidden City. By Li Jian. This is a picture book about a kid that goes to the Forbidden City. However, he gets lost and then finds himself back in history during the Qing Empire. 
   2. From Emperor to Citizen (2 Volumes) by Puyi. This is an autobiography about the life of the last emperor of China. It’s at the high school reading level. Pre-read it for your students first- some things might not be appropriate for their maturity level (which is different for each student). Generally the first volume is more interesting than the second one.
   3. Cixi: One of the Last Empresses of China by Rachel Bubb.  This biography is great for the primary grade level. It’s a chapter book and is available on amazon as a printed book or www.lulu.com as a printed or ebook. It's also in a collection of biographies called "10 Famous People From Long Ago China" on www.inknewspaper.net ($5).

   
   

   Other Books: 

   1. Jillian Lin wrote a collection of stories about “Heroes of China.” They are all for beginning reading and are in both Chinese and English and are picture books. There are:
   1. The First Emperor of China (Qin Shihuang)
   2. The Wise Teacher of China (Confucius)
   3. The Clever Doctor of China (Hua Tuo)
   4. The Girl Emperor of China (Wu Zetian)
   5. The Star Gazer of China (Zhang Heng)
   6. The Happy Sailor of China (Zheng He)
   7. The Pirate King of China (Koxinga/ Zheng Chenggong)
   2. In the early 1920s 1930s there were a lot of explorers that came from Europe to Central Asia and parts of China. Most of them kept journals which are fun and amusing to read. One of my favorites is from Sven Hadin who was from Sweden. He tried to cross the Taklimakan Desert, trying to find the route that Marco Polo traveled on many years before. He kept a journal during his travels. He almost died of thirst when he crossed the desert; many of the camels and people traveling with him died because they couldn’t find water. You can look at his book My Life as an Explorer online at www.archive.org or buy a used copy on amazon. Pre-read it before your students read it to check for their maturity level.
   3. Storybook of China by Rachel Bubb. This goes through China’s history through stories for the primary school grades. Each story has its own pictures and it’s meant to be an introduction to Chinese history. Available on Amazon as a printed book or on www.lulu.com as an ebook or www.inknewspaper.net
   4. Chinese History For Kids, Parts 1 and 2 by RSB. This goes through Chinese history in more depth than the Storybook of China and is great for the upper primary grades and Junior High level. It tells Chinese history through stories and includes maps, review questions, and project ideas. Available on www.lulu.com or Amazon or www.inknewspaper.net. 
   5. Learning Chinese Characters Using the Charlotte Mason Method by Rachel Bubb. The ebook is available on www.lulu.com. Both years 1 and 2 are available (each year has 3 terms). Book 3 is also available and has 10 stories. Each term goes through an entire story and the characters learned in one term are used in the story for next term so they build on what the student knows already. Available on www.inknnewspaper.net. 
   6. Chinese Characters in Pictures. There are 2 volumes. By Wang Chun. They go through the history behind the character- how it was written and changed from ancient history to today. There’s pictures of what the character is supposed to be, examples of words that have the character, and phrases that use it. Great for reference to show your student the individual character they are learning if it’s in these books.
   7. Geography: Where’s the Yangtze? (General geography of China) by Rachel Bubb and Where’s the Yellow River? (Physical geography of China) by Rachel Bubb are geography books for kids with pictures, maps, drawings, stories, and activity ideas. Available on amazon as a printed book or www.lulu.com as an ebook. These are great for primary grades and Junior High.  A Story about Pu'er Tea Delivery is a book that I wrote but worked with Tanya Shinn and her daughters who illustrated it. They did a fantastic job! It follows a family as they pick the Pu'er tea leaves, get the tea ready to be sold, and then travel throughout Yunnan to sell their tea. It's available on www.lulu.com or www.amazon.com. Shaanxi Geography by Rachel Bubb and Sichuan Geography by Rachel Bubb goes through these provinces to describe the geography and history of them through stories. Available on www.lulu.com (free). There's also the Geography of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. Stories from Xi’an’s History by Rachel Bubb. This goes through Xi’an history through story form. Xi’an has been the capital of China many times in ancient history. There are also ideas for field trips and where to see history today in Xi’an. Available on amazon as a printed book or www.lulu.com as an ebook. Also available on www.inknewspaper.net. 
   8. The Silk Route: 7,000 Miles of History by John S. Major. Picture book.
   9. Made in China: Ideas and Inventions from Ancient China by Suzanne Williams
   10. Yeh-Shen by Ai-Ling Louie. This is a Chinese version of Cinderella. Picture book.