Colin Mackerras

A comparative introduction to ethnicity in East and Southeast Asia since 1945. Each chapter covers a particular country looking at core issues such as ethnic minorities and groups, population, language, culture and traditional religion.

Ethnicity in Asia

Pradeep Taneja

Graham Young

This textbook by this writer on Asia provides an account of the history of China from 1978 through to 1997, focusing on the themes of reform and modernisation.

Reform, Modernisation and "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics"

China Since 1978

The overthrow of the ‘gang of four’ in 1976 had profound effects in all areas of Chinese society, and probably nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the performing arts. Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong’s widow, was strongly interested in the performing arts and exercised great influence over them. Professor Mackerras describes this influence and the effects its removal had on the arts in the years after Mao’s death, as well as in the years following the Cultural Revolution. This book, first published in 1981, deals not only with opera, the spoken play, music and dance but also with cinema, describing how in all these cases the Chinese have adapted traditional art forms for political, social and propagandist purposes, both domestic and international. It charts the transformations that have taken place in all the multiple aspects of the performing arts and sets them against the development of Chinese society as a whole. It also looks at the role of the actor and performer in society, including their training, social status and livelihood.

The Performing Arts in Contemporary China

Constantine Tung

This is the first book ever published in the West on drama in the Peoples Republic of China. The plays, playwrights, theories, and performances range from the play that inflamed the Cultural Revolution to a post-Mao satiric drama that upset party leaders; from Jiang Qings drama theory for her model plays to the discovery of Bertolt Brecht; from the problems and dilemmas that confront theater reform in the post-Mao era to the performance of Ibsens Peer Gynt and Viennese operettas; and from a historical play glorifying Maos supremacy to a playwright calling for individualism and womens rights. This book not only depicts aspects of drama in the Peoples Republic of China, it also provides analyses of the political and social conditions that shaped and are represented in this drama.

Drama in the People's Republic of China

Western Images of China

Nick Knight

Marxism is a theory which originated in the context of nineteenth-century industrialised Europe. Despite its European origins, Marxism has actually found greatest significance as a doctrine for change in the context of the underdeveloped peasant societies of Asia. This paradox has only been resolved through adaptation of Marxism to suit the specific features of particular Asian societies. There has consequently been a differentiation of Marxism along national lines. In this book, first published in 1985, the theoretical and practical implications for this national differentiation of a ‘universal’ (European) theory are explored, followed by a more detailed analysis of the manner in which Marxism has developed during different historical periods in particular Asian contexts.

Marxism in Asia (RLE Marxism)

First published in 1981. The overthrow of the 'gang of four' in October 1976 had profound effects in all areas of Chinese society, and probably nowhere can this be more clearly seen than in the performing arts. Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's widow, was strongly interested in the performing arts and exercised great influence over them. This book describes her influence and the effects its removal had on the arts. Although the period covered is mainly that since the death of Mao, there is also considerable reference to the years following the Cultural Revolution.

Andrew Watson

Donald H. McMillen

As China's political and economic development comes under closer scrutiny, this Dictionary will prove invaluable to anyone with an interest in contemporary China. As well as proving valuable to students and academics of political science, economics, history and Asian studies, it will be of use to government officials, business people and media professionals with current or future connections in the region. The main topics covered by the Dictionary are: * major political processes and events * key issues in domestic policy * China's evolving foreign policy environment * key political personalities * major political institutions and groupings * important aspects of the legal system.

Dictionary of the Politics of the People's Republic of China

In the first half of the twentieth century, China moved from a millennium of imperial rule to the Communist Party-led People’s Republic of China which remains today. China in Transformation argues that this enormously significant period in Chinese history saw wrenching change throughout Chinese society amounting to a social, cultural and political transformation. This new, fully revised and updated edition takes full advantage of new research and formerly unavailable material to analyse the fascinating processes of revolution, reform, reaction and change in China during the period. Mackerras: · Discusses the wars, occupations and uprisings that marked the period, including the Boxer Rebellion and the Japanese occupation and includes a new chapter on postwar China and the Civil War · Examines nation-building and revolutions, including the successful communist movement that has led to the rise of today’s state · Acknowledges the prevalence of poverty and famine in the period but also gives space to the areas in which there was progress: the introduction of mass, secular education, improvements in the status of women, and in a new chapter, details significant developments in culture, literature and theatre Written in an accessible style, with a rich collection of Documents, Chronology, Glossary, a Guide to Further Reading,and a Who’s Who summarising the careers and contributions of the main figures, this new edition is essential for all those interested in understanding China’s modern history.

Colin Mackerras

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