History : China

In this compact and student-friendly textbook, Robert Taylor explores the ambiguous relationship between the two regions, and explains why its development will be so crucial in the twenty-first century. more...

Price: $59.95

This book offers a perspective on the constitutional and administrative experiment that has been taking place in Hong Kong, based on a substantial period under Chinese rule. more...

Price: $190.00

In 1856 Emperor Hsien Feng turned over an ornately carved jade name-plaque next to his bedchamber, an action with which he brought a much-desired new concubine to his bed and unwittingly sealed the fate of the Manchu dynasty. A centuries-old prophecy had foretold that Manchu rule in China would be brought to ruin by a woman from the Yeho-Nala tribe; in the darkness of the bedchamber those words became reality. The Emperor was entranced with the young woman he had chosen, and from that time her power over him was ensured. Her name was Yehonala. more...

Price: $32.50

Re-examines Marco Polo's book about his journey to China in the wake of criticism by some scholars that he had never been there. This work clarifies Polo's itineraries in China and proposes identifications of places mentioned. It concludes that Polo's work is accurate, and a useful source from an extraordinary period of China's history. more...

Price: $115.00

This multidisciplinary collection underlines the importance of understanding the operations of human agency—defined here as the ability to exert power, specifically in resistance to ideological pressure. In particular, the contributors emphasize the historical and cultural conditions that facilitate the production of agency in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the cultures of China, India, and Japan. In Narratives of Agency, scholars from a variety of disciplines argue that traditional Western approaches to the study of these cultures have unduly focused on the pervasive influence of family and clan (China), caste and fatalism (India), and groupism (Japan). This tendency has been exacerbated by modern critical approaches, such as postmodernism and poststructuralism, that not only are increasingly popular in studying these cultures but also de-emphasize the role of the individual. The resultant undermining of the notion of human agency tends to give short shrift to the very real individual differences between groups and ignores questions of personal desire and intentionality. These essays remind us that members of a community have to make personal choices, struggle and interact with others, argue about positions, and confront new challenges, all of which involve intentionality and human agency. A new look at a topic central to cross-cultural understanding, Narratives of Agency will be essential reading for those interested in China, India, Japan, and the world beyond. Contributors: Richard G. Fox, Lydia H. Liu, Owen M. Lynch, Vijay Mishra, Marie Thorsten Morimoto, Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, Eugene Yuejin Wang, Ming-Bao Yue, more...

Price: $78.00