The second edition of Charles Holcombe's acclaimed introduction to East Asian history from the dawn of history to the twenty-first century.

This series on the history of the book in the East focuses attention on three areas of the world which for a long time have been undeservedly left on the margins of the global history of the book: the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia. The importance of these three regions of the world lies not only in the sheer antiquity of printing in East Asia, where both movable type and wood blocks were used centuries before Gutenberg's invention changed the face of book production in Europe, but also in the manuscript traditions and very different responses to printing technology in the Middle East and South Asia. This series forms an important counterbalance to the Eurocentrism of the history of the book as practised in the West. The three volumes are edited by renowned experts in the field and each includes an introduction which provides an overview of research in the field. This series offers a significant benefit to students, lecturers and libraries as it brings together leading articles in the field from disparate journals which are often difficult to locate and of limited access. Students are thus able to study leading articles side by side for comparison whilst lecturers are provided with an invaluable 'one-stop' teaching resource.

Histories of East Asia traditionally emphasize China and Japan, and neglect Korea and Vietnam. Essentially, 20th century East Asia is re-written into the past, as though China and Japan was always the core of East Asian development. This is not at all how East Asia developed. Chinese prehistoric cultures became historic in the 18th century B.C.! Japan was not part of East Asia for over 2300 more years. By studying periods of Chinese unity and disunity, and their effects on China s neighbors, Korea and Vietnam, a distinct culture zone, East Asia, gradually emerged, and slowly included Japan. The main elements of East Asia cultural, social, political, philosophical, religious and linguistic were derived from China, but the others were not minor replicas of China. Each was unique: its people ethnically distinct, from China and each other; its native language, and linguistic blend with Chinese, also unique. Korea and Vietnam resisted Chinese colonization, but adopted and adapted advance Chinese elements to their own needs. Emerging later, Japan underwent wholesale adoption of Tang China s advances, replicated in the 19th century, when Japan was the first East Asian country to modernize. Spanning some thirty-eight centuries, from the 18th century B.C. to 2012 A.D., this diversity with common elements derived from China, is a major theme of this work. It is often overlooked by those who prefer general views, based on surface impressions, to more complex realities. The former often lead to mistakes; the latter become the basis for more sound understanding. After all, these four countries and people share the eastern end of the Eurasian continent, yet each country s geographic situation is also unique. As the twenty-first century continues to unfold, this new approach to East Asia should help to produce clearer and more accurate understanding of this important world region.

In the twenty-first century, East Asia has been increasingly marked both by tensions at a government level and a chauvinistic mood among the polity. While China’s rise is in one respect the proximate driver of these changes in tone, it draws on a range of unresolved grievances among the respective historical narratives of Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and the Koreas. These conflicting views of the region’s past are a crucial barrier to its cohesive and stable future. This book brings together East Asian scholars from a range of academic disciplines, including China historians, political historians and political scientists to illuminate the interconnectedness of East Asia and discuss how a shared historical narrative might be constructed. Their contributions are organised into 3 parts focusing respectively on historical narratives of China, historical narratives of East Asia, and reconciling historical narratives. The book will appeal to researcher interested in the historical narratives of international relations in East Asia.

"Based on a conference sponsored by the joint committees on Chinese Studies and Japanese Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies and the Social Science Research Council.".

This book analyses the efforts throughout East Asia to deploy education for purposes of political socialization, and in particular in order to shape notions of identity. The chapters also examine the trend of ‘common textbook initiatives’, which have recently emerged in East Asia with the aim of helping to defuse tensions arguably fuelled by existing practices of mutual (mis)representation. These are analysed in relation to the East Asian political context, and compared with previous and ongoing endeavours in other parts of the world, particularly Europe, which have been keenly observed by East Asian practitioners. Written by a group of international education experts, chapters discuss the enduring focus on the role of curricula in inculcating homogenous visions of the national self, and indeed homogenized visions of significant 'others'. Including contributions from scholars and curriculum developers involved personally in the writing of national and multi-national history textbooks this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian education, Asian history and comparative education studies. Gotelind Müller is Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany

Apr. issue lists studies in progress; Oct. issue, completed studies.