This title was first published in 1981. The study of peasant rebellion constitutes a major research field among contemporary Chinese historians. This book brings together translated excerpts of primary and secondary materials dealing with one of the largest rebellions in Chinese history: the Nien Rebellion of 1851-1868. The selections have been made with two main purposes in mind. First, they have been chosen with an eye toward introducing some new types of source materials for the study of Chinese peasant rebellion. Original field research conducted by Chinese scholars in the late 1950s uncovered important information not contained in official documentary collections. Second, the selections offer a sample of the nature of historiographical debate within Chinese academic circles. It is hoped that the selections will prove of interest not only to students of the Nien, but also to others curious about the lines of scholarly controversy within the People's Republic of China.

A study of the evolving 'national styles' of conducting insurgencies and counter-insurgency, as influenced by transnational trends, ideas and practices.

In her study of Chinese shadow theatre Fan-Pen Li Chen documents and corrects misconceptions about this once-popular art form. She argues how a traditional folk theatre reflected and subverted Chinese popular culture.

This presents a major re-evaluation of the standard view of revolutionary armies, the range of attitudes towards the role of heroic individuals, the formation and leadership of armies, and the differences and similarities between such armies. Beginning with an exploration of the New Model Army of the 1640s, a force whose name itself seems to denote its revolutionary credentials, the author presents ten case studies from around the globe, including the American War of Independence, The French Revolution, The Zulu-Boer War, the Waffen SS and the Viet-Cong. Through a detailed analysis of source material, he examines the images connected with these armies, both historical and recent, and assesses these images in their socio-political and nationalist contexts.

Struggle for Empire provides the first comprehensive modern biography in English of the late Qing dynasty statesman, strategist, and military commander, Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885). A national hero in China, Zuo’s remarkable story remains understudied in the West. Author Kenneth Swope traces Zuo's unlikely rise from poverty and obscurity in rural Hunan province to become the most powerful Han Chinese official in Manchu China. Zuo embodied a new practical type of Chinese official, grounded in the study of military history and strategic geography, who realized that the secret to China’s survival was to both live up to traditional Confucian norms and expectations while also adapting science and technology from the West. Zuo also pushed for self-strengthening, building China’s first modern naval yard and setting up arsenals, silk factories, and publishing houses across China. Zuo also helped the Qing put down the greatest civil war in human history, the Taiping Rebellion.

In this detailed account of civilian lives during wartime in Asia, high school students, undergrads, and general readers alike can get a glimpse into the often dismal, but surprisingly resilient, lives led by ordinary people-those who did not go off to war but were powerfully affected by it nonetheless. How did people live on a day-to-day basis with the cruelty and horror of war right outside their doorsteps? What were the reactions and views of those who did not fight on the fields? How did people come together to cope with the losses of loved ones and the sacrifices they had to make on a daily basis? This volume contains accounts from the resilient civilians who lived in Asia during the Taiping and Nian Rebellions, the Philippine Revolution, the Wars of Meiji Japan, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. This volume begins with R.G. Tiedemann's account of life in China in the mid-nineteenth century, during the Taiping and Nian Rebellions. Tiedemann examines social practices imposed on the civilians by the Taiping, life in the cities and country, women, and the militarization of society. Bernardita Reyes Churchill examines how civilians in the Philippines struggled for freedom under the imperial reign Spain and the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. Stewart Lone looks at how Meiji Japan's wars on the Asian continent affected the lives and routines of men, women, and children, urban and rural. He also explains how the media played a role during the wars, as well as how people were able to spend leisure time and even make wartime humor. Di Wang uses the public space of the teahouse and its culture as a microcosm of daily life in China during tumultuous years of civil and world war, 1937-1949. Simon Partner explores Japanese daily life during World War II, investigating youth culture, the ways people came together, and how the government took control of their lives by rationing food, clothing, and other resources. Shigeru Sato continues by examining the harshness of life in Indonesia during World War II and its aftermath. Korean life from 1950-1953 is looked at by Andrei Lankov, who takes a look at the heart-rending lives of refugees. Finally, Lone surveys life in South Vietnam from 1965-1975, from school children to youth protests to how propaganda affected civilians. This volume offers students and general readers a glimpse into the lives of those often forgotten.

In this complete guide to modern China, Michael Dillon takes students through its social, political and economic changes, from the Qing Empire, through the civil war and the Communist state, to its incarnation as a hybrid capitalist superpower. Key features of the new edition include: - A brand new chapter on the Xi Jinping premiership - Coverage of the recent developments in Hong Kong - Unique analysis of Tibet and Xinjiang - Teaching aides including biographies of leading figures, timelines and a glossary Clearly and compelling written, this textbook is essential for any student of the history or politics of modern China.

This book examines Chinese political economy spanning from 1800 to to the dawn of the 21st century, shedding new light on our understanding of the reasons and impact of socio-political and socio-economic changes in China. Crossing over the three disciplines of history, politics and economics, the analyses China’s ideology, politics, and the economy using state-building as the key theme and puts the emphasis on China’s internal factors and mechanisms instead of the influence from Western imperialism or Japanese colonialism. It pays close attention to the movers and shakers inside Chinese society and carefully reveals historical contingencies which lend the reader a unique and radically different re-interpretation of China’s recent history.

In this important and hugely ambitious book, one of the world’s leading political scientists working on China demonstrates how Western views of China are flawed because the long tradition of Western scholarship studying China views China from the Western philosophical and intellectual perspective rather than viewing China on its own terms through the lens of China’s own long-established and reputable philosophical and intellectual tradition. Providing a deep analysis of Western scholarship on China, including work from Leibniz to Marx to Weber and then to Wittfogel, and a thorough account of the evolution of China’s own thinking about governance as expressed in the practices of successive Chinese dynasties, the book goes on to examine how the current Chinese body politic fits with and is the natural outcome of China’s own long, well-thought-through and well-practiced intellectual consideration of what the nature of civilized governance should be. By focusing on philosophical and intellectual approaches rather than on theoretical or methodological ones, the book shows how the huge and increasing disconnect between non-Chinese views of China and Chinese ones has come about.

Why did the Chinese empire collapse and why did it take so long for a new government to reunite China? Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 seeks to answer these questions by exploring the most important domestic and international conflicts over the past two hundred years, from the last half of the Qing empire through to modern day China. It reveals how most of China's wars during this period were fought to preserve unity in China, and examines their distinctly cyclical pattern of imperial decline, domestic chaos and finally the creation of a new unifying dynasty. By 1989 this cycle appeared complete, but the author asks how long this government will be able to hold power. Exposing China as an imperialist country, and one which has often manipulated western powers in its favour, Bruce Elleman seeks to redress the views of China as a victimised nation.