Overseas Studies of China: Chinese History Through the Eyes of American and Japanese Scholars

A General History of China: Kyoto Edition: This general history of China was written by Japanese historian Naito Konan and his disciple Okazaki Fumio. The development of Chinese history is, at its essence, the development of culture. Based on the differing content and forms of cultural development in each era, the authors divide Chinese history into three periods: ancient, medieval, and modern. Along with a comprehensive account of the major events and notable figures of each period, they explain the profound impact that the institutions and cultures of each era had on the course of Chinese history. Telling the Story of Chinese History: In this work, American historian Frederic Wakeman analyzes Chinese history from a global perspective. It is the culmination of his 40 years of research into Chinese history! The book explores many key issues in Chinese history, especially modern and contemporary history, including the changing relationship between China and the West, political transformations under the Ming and Qing dynasties, modern China's understanding of the world, local history in Republican-era Shanghai, the Chinese Revolution, and modernization. From the Late Qing to the Republic: The winding, turbulent Three Gorges of the Yangtze are a source of pride for the Chinese people and a zone of tidal change in China's natural history. The Opium War ushered in the "great sociocultural transformation" that began in the nineteenth century, an upheaval unlike any China had seen in two thousand years. In the discerning eyes of renowned historian Tang Degang, the "humanistic view of history" is much like the "natural historical view." The war of 1840 not only brought sweeping changes to China's social and political order, but also set the course of history upon a century of strange and tumultuous currents before it could pass through the Three Gorges and emerge into the vast Pacific. In this book, Tang Degang brings together his Three Gorges view of history and his humanistic inquiry to create an objective and penetrating account of modern Chinese history. The Decline of the Chinese Empire: Beginning with the three groups that formed the main structure of traditional society, the peasants, gentry, and merchants, the book closely examines how the Chinese Empire established order, rose to prosperity, fell into crisis, and established order once again. In dividing the periods of modern Chinese history, Frederic Wakeman adopts the perspective of North American Sinology. His account not only covers the history after the Opium War, but also traces events back to the late Ming, giving the work a distinctive perspective of its own. Frederic Wakeman's Shanghai Trilogy (3 Volumes): Shanghai, the "metropolis of the Far East," was the setting for many major historical events and a place where the tensions of modern China converged. Using local history in Shanghai to reflect on China's modern history offers a fresh perspective. Catch a glimpse of the political upheavals and social changes of modern China through the turbulent world of Shanghai in the first half of the twentieth century! The trilogy draws on extensive municipal and police records from Republican-era Shanghai, as well as archival materials held by the Shanghai Municipal Archives and libraries.