Now I am reading Chinese history

Lately I am reading 中國人史綱 by 柏楊 at a more leisurely pace. I borrowed it from the Richmond Hill Public Library. The book covers the history of China from legends of creation to the retreat of the Empress Dowager to Xian when Western military forces invaded Beijing in response to the Boxer Rebellion. Now I am at the beginning of the Ming dynasty and have yet to tackle the Qing dynasty. A few thoughts on Chinese history so far: Lots of bloodshed, one wonders how it relates to Chinese ethnic homogeneity--even so China remains populous and multicultural. Lots of "Dark Ages" (a Western term), one only needs to know the major dynasties, their founders or most significant emperors, i.e. Han Wu-di, Tang Tai-zong, and from the Qing dynasty, Kangxi and Qianlong, who were successful--the rest is all decline or disunity. Lots of Confucianism and culture over the centuries; they come and go, sometimes hand in hand, sometimes against each other--the former contributed to formation of a privileged, non-productive aristocracy resistant to any useful innovation, and the latter contributed to various vibrant things we call Chinese, like calligraphy and ceramics, painting and poetry, and songs, operas and novels. This is a book I would buy to keep.