In recent years historians of China have focused increased attention on the critical decades of National rule on the mainland. This recent scholarship has substantially modified our understanding of the political events of this momentous period, shedding light on the character of Nationalist rule and on the sources of the Communist victory in 1949. Yet no existing textbook on modern China presents the events of the period according to these new findings. The five essays in this volume were written by leading authorities on the period, and they synthesize the new research. Drawn from Volume 13...

Victor Purcell died in 1965 shortly after retiring from his teaching post in Cambridge. This 1970 memorial volume is a tribute to the wide range of his interests by friends, colleagues and former pupils. It aims primarily to acknowledge his work as a scholar. The subject-matter might be described in general terms as insurrection, immigration and trade in China and South-east Asia. Interest is concentrated on the Chinese people (whom he so much admired), and on their more recent history and civilisation (which were central pre-occupations throughout his life). The list of distinguished...