Books

The Year 1000

The year 1000 was the world’s first point of major cultural exchange and exploration. Drawing on nearly thirty years of research, Valerie Hansen presents a compelling account of first encounters between disparate societies.

The Silk Road

This book explains how this very modest commercial artery became the world’s most famous cultural superhighway.

The Open Empire

Drawing on unconventional sources —archeological sites, paintings, and fiction —The Open Empire argues that China remained open to outside influences throughout its long history.

Voyages in World History

Voyages In World History (co-authored with Kenneth R. Curtis) takes readers on thirty-two different journeys, starting with Mungo Man’s journey to the New World some 50,000 years ago, and ending with the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s travels today.

Voyages in World History: Brief

Voyages in World History, Volume I, Brief (co-authored with Kenneth R. Curtis).

Negotiating Daily Life in Traditional China

Because Chinese contracts were so widely used for all transactions, in this world and the next, they allow a rare glimpse of how ordinary people understood the law.

Changing Gods in Medieval China

In 1100, nearly all people in south China worshiped gods who had been local residents prior to their deaths. The increasing mobility of cultivators in the lowland, rice-growing regions resulted in the adoption of gods from other places. Cults in isolated mountain regions showed considerably less change.