East Asia

Description

• Kristin Stapleton, Director of Asian Studies and Associate Professor of History at The University at Buffalo, SUNY, contributed her expertise to the latest revision by revising and updating the text in accordance with the most recent scholarship in the field.
• The Fifth Edition has been updated with coverage of the following topics:
  • the 2008 Olympics and what they mean for China
  • the trade alliances between China and India that stem from globalization
  • the post-Mao economic surge in China
  • the economic downturn in Japan over the past decade
  • coverage of North Korea and Vietnam updated for the twenty-first century
• The Fifth Edition features expanded coverage of women’s history, gender relations, and ordinary citizens. This is reflected not only in the main narrative but also in the Further Readings.

• Also in the Fifth Edition:

• Chapter 15 has been extended to 1901 in the Fifth Edition, concluding with the Boxer Uprising and the events surrounding it.

• Chapter 18 now begins in the wake of the Boxer Uprising.  

• Coverage of Overseas Chinese has been consolidated into a single chapter–Chapter 18–rather than several different chapters as in earlier editions.

• Chapter 10 now deals solely with Vietnam.

• Chapters 17 and 23 focus exclusively on Korea and Vietnam.

• Chapters 21, 22, and 23 detail events in China, Japan, and Korea through early 2009.

• Place names throughout the text have been updated to reflect current conventions.

• The Suggested Websites and Further Readings have been updated to reflect the latest scholarship.

This accessible text offers a comprehensive history of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, including coverage of everyday life, women and gender-related issues, and the environment—topics often neglected in other texts.

Throughout his distinguished career, author Rhoads Murphey has inspired within students an appreciation for the rich and unique history of Asia. The 5th Edition of this text on East Asia is certain to bring this fascinating region to life for many of today’s students.

This accessible text offers a comprehensive history of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, including coverage of everyday life, women and gender-related issues, and the environment–topics often neglected in other texts.

Throughout his distinguished career, author Rhoads Murphey has inspired within students an appreciation for the rich and unique history of Asia. The Fifth Edition of this text on East Asia is certain to bring this fascinating region to life for many of today’s students.

Maps

Preface

Note on the Spelling of Asian Names and Words

Wade-Giles/Pinyin Equivalents

About the Author

Regional Map

Time Chart

1. East Asia: Common Ground and Regional Differences
2. Prehistory, Beginnings in China, and the Shang Dynasty
3. The Zhou: Its Decline and the Age of the Philosophers
4. Qin and Han: The Making of Empire
5. Buddhism and the Cosmopolitan Tang Dynasty
6. Achievement and Disaster: The Song and Yuan Dynasties, 960—1368
7. New Imperial Splendor in China: The Ming Dynasty
8. The Qing in Prosperity and Decline
9. Early Korea
10. Premodern Vietnam
11. Beginnings in Japan: Patterns and Origins
12. Warriors, Monks, and Conflict: Medieval Japan
13. The West Arrives in Asia
14. Tokugawa Japan
15. China’s Nineteenth-Century Crises
16. Japan Remakes Itself
17. Imperialism in Korea and Vietnam
18. China, 1901—1925: End of Empire and Search for a New Order
19. China and Japan: The Road to War
20. The Second World War in Asia
21. China since 1945
22. Japan since 1945
23. Korea and Vietnam since 1945

Index

Introduce students to the rich and varied history of East Asia:

• Comprehensive coverage of Korea and Vietnam deepens students’ knowledge of the histories of these two fascinating countries.
• Coverage of contemporary Japan and China reflects current developments in this part of the world.
• Extensive coverage of Daoism provides students with a richer understanding of this topic.

Pedagogical Features

• Documents in each chapter capture students’ interest and offer a unique and personal window on the trends and issues of the past.
• A wealth of maps and illustrations enables students to visualize history.
• Pinyin spellings for Chinese words are used almost exclusively throughout the book.
• Four-color inserts provide students with a broad sample of the visual glories of East Asia.
• Timelines for each chapter provide a chronological perspective and highlight important events.
• Suggested Websites and Further Readings at the end of each chapter enable students to research specific topics and issues.

Rhoads Murphey, University of Michigan