Kategoria BISAC: History >> Asia - General

Tea is one of the world's most popular beverages, and the birthplace of tea is China. Until the 1830s, China was the only producer of tea, and today it remains the world's greatest producer and consumer. Tea in China is a history of China's national drink, where it came from, how it was drunk, and the place it has occupied in Chinese society from prehistory to the present.

Prehistoric use of tea by Peking Man and Laotian Man are discussed, as are the changing teas favored by the various dynasties. The role of tea in the spread of religions is reviewed, as is the impact of Chinese teas...

Selectively drawing on the vast literature on Gandhi since the 1920s, this bibliography covers his life, political campaigns, philosophy of nonviolence, and strategy of nonviolence, or satyagraha. It also includes assessments of his historical significance and works on the Gandhian movement since 1948. The book sets Gandhi in his historical and political context, including material on his colleagues and contemporaries, the Indian National Congress, and how governments in South Africa, India, and Britain responded to his campaigns. Directed to English-speaking students, the work...

In 1871-1882 fifty Americans, along with other foreign experts, were employed by the Japanese government to develop Japan's northern frontier, Hokkaido. Their work covered a wide scope of activities, from introducing Western agriculture and industry, constructing roads and a railroad, and surveying topography and mines, to establishing an agricultural college. While examining the overall undertaking, Professor Fujita specifically focuses on the prominent members who left copious private and public records. She thoroughly examines their ideas as well as their attitudes toward an alien...

Traditionally, the history of Micronesia has been dominated by outside European interpretations and standards. More recently, both European and indigenous historians have begun to examine historical interpretations from the perspectives, values, and actions of Micronesians themselves, thereby rendering contextually richer and more realistic interpretations of the past. A core title for individuals interested in Pacific history and historiography, this bibliography provides a critical summary and analysis of the scholarship on Micronesian history, as it has been constructed through both...

Preserving much rare and disintegrating information, this comprehensive chronology and fact book provides day-to-day records covering a third of the Pacific war for the first time. Recounts events in the North Pacific between August 1943 and September 1945, revealing the activities of the Allies, including the Soviet Union and the Japanese. It identifies the location and activities of the various units, their landings, and battles. Short biographies make participants come alive. Appendices provide a glossary, and give key information about prisoners of war, American internees, Army Air...

Covering all Pacific islands involved in World War II military operations, this book is a detailed, single source of information on virtually every geo-military aspect of the Pacific Theater. Arranged regionally and, to the extent possible, chronologically according to when islands entered the war, entries provide complete background information. Along with island names, nicknames, Allied code names, location, and wartime time zones, the entries include such topics as the island's physical characteristics, weather, health hazards, historical background, native population, natural...

Wei and Liu argue that Chinese nationalism is a multifaceted concept. At different historical moments and under certain circumstances, it had different meanings and interacted with other competing motives and interests. The authors of this timely volume, all of whom are of Chinese origin and bi-national education, have produced a balanced and non-culture-bound work of scholarship. It contains diverse, provocative, and in-depth analysis of both historical and recent case studies that can shed light on the contemporary incarnation of Chinese nationalism.

This interdisciplinary...

This study critically examines for the first time the unlikely friendship between apartheid South Africa and non-white Japan. In the mid-1980s, Japan became South Africa's largest trading partner, while South Africa purportedly treated Japanese citizens in the Republic as honorary whites under apartheid. Osada probes the very different foreign policy-making mechanisms of the two nations and analyzes their ambivalent bilateral relations against the background of postcolonial and Cold War politics. She concludes that these diplomatic policies were adopted not voluntarily or willingly, but...

The Dalai Lama is both the living conscience of the Tibetan people and an internationally respected human rights symbol. His high-profile appearances and books have fueled the surging popularity of Buddhism in the United States and throughout the West. This new, up-to-date biography provides insight into the curious and winning personality of the Dalai Lama as a boy and his wisdom as a man. The Buddhist spiritual worlds and the Dalai Lama's rarified role are engagingly and evenly presented.

The Dalai Lama's story is revealed from his early family life to his experiences in the...

Afghanistan has been at the crossroads of many cultures and civilizations, occupying a unique place in the cultural geography of Central Asia. Invading tribes and armies passed through ancient Afghanistan and left their imprint on the culture, customs, and way of life there. In recent history, Afghanistan has been the focus of international attention since the Soviet invasion and occupation of 1979-1989, the brutal civil war that ensued, and the subsequent U.S. invasion to topple the Taliban regime. As the country struggles to stabilize and rebuild, this volume is the first to reveal the...

The Mongol Empire comes to life in this vivid account of the lives of ordinary people who lived under the rule of Ghengis Khan. The book allows the reader to enjoy traditional Mongol folktales and experience life in a yurt, the tent in which the nomadic Mongols lived. It explains why the Mongols had a reputation for being savage barbarians by describing their fur-lined clothes and their heavy, meat- and alcohol-based diet. It supplies first-hand accounts of fighting in Ghengis Khan's decimalized army, and explores the various tasks that were left up to the women, such as loading and...

Education in east Asia varies widely, due to the cultural and political histories of each country. The communist governments of China, North Korea, and Vietnam mandate schooling differently from the limited democracy of Hong Kong and the parliamentary government of Japan. The history of the educational philosophies, systems, and curricula of seventeen East Asian countries are described here, with a timeline highlighting educational developments, and a special day in the life feature, a personal account of what it is like for a student to attend school in that country.

Illiberal Democracy in Indonesia charts the origins and development of organicist ideologies in Indonesia from the early 20th century to the present. In doing so, it provides a background to the theories and ideology that informed organicist thought, traces key themes in Indonesian history, examines the Soeharto regime and his 'New Order' in detail, and looks at contemporary Indonesia to question the possibility of past ideologies making a resurgence in the country.

Beginning with an exploration of the origins of the theory of the organic state in Europe, this book explores...

Taking a comparative approach, Alan T. Wood traces the evolution of democracy from its origins in prehistoric times and describes democratic growth in thirteen Asian countries from Japan in East Asia to Pakistan in South Asia and examines key issues such as:

* How does the democratic experience in Asia, in countries with unique and totalitarian political traditions, compare with democracies worldwide?
* Is the aspiration to freedom universal or is it a product of western ideas and institutions?

Guy Halsall relates warfare to many aspects of medieval life, economy, society and politics.This book recovers its distinctiveness, looking at warfare in a rounded context in the British Isles and Western Europe between the end of the Roman Empire and the break-up of the Carolingian Empire.

Examining the raising and organization of early medieval armies and looks at the conduct of campaigns, the survey also includes a study of the equipment of warriors and the horrific experience of battle as well as an analysis of medieval fortifications and siege warfare.

Warfare and...