The IUTAM Symposium on Rheology of Bodies with Defects was held in Beijing in September, 1997. It was aimed at the development of Rheology in Solid Mechanics. Rheology is classified in Applied Mechanics Review under fluid mechanics, however, in its broadest content as was envisaged in its earlier days, it covers the whole spectrum of material behavior from elasticity, plasticity, and fluid mechanics to gas dynamics. It was thought of as a branch of continuum mechanics, but emphasized the physical aspects of different materials, and frequently proceeded from basic physical principles. As the...