Woodblock printing originated in China in the Tang dynasty and spread to Japan. So why did it become more culturally prominent and enduring in Japan?…
View More Woodblock: From Print to ArtTag: Asian History (Books)
The Gang of Four – Part 1
This book The Cultural Revolution on Trial, published in 2016, is the most recent book on the trial of The Gang of Four. The trial…
View More The Gang of Four – Part 1Escape to the East
Here are 2 books on Jewish refugees finding sanctuary in Shanghai during WW 2. Shanghai Sanctuary by Gao Bei [ 2013] narrates that when Europe…
View More Escape to the EastThe Tiananmen Protests figures – Part 1
How many died when the military went in to clear protesters who refused to obey a martial law curfew? A recent book stated 478 dead…
View More The Tiananmen Protests figures – Part 1The Steep Trail of Reform
Never Turn Back by Julian Gewirtz, published 2022, is a history of China in the 1980s. Julian using Chinese sources shows a China that was…
View More The Steep Trail of ReformThe Confucian-Legalist State by Dingxin Zhao – Part 2
This book published in 2015 is a detailed study of the Zhou dynasty. The Zhou, after overthrowing the Shang dynasty, needed to justify their actions.…
View More The Confucian-Legalist State by Dingxin Zhao – Part 2The Confucian-Legalist State by Dingxin Zhao – Part 1
This book published in 2015 is a detailed study of the Western and Eastern Zhou dynasties. Zhao posits that the main characteristics of the Chinese…
View More The Confucian-Legalist State by Dingxin Zhao – Part 1Canton Elegy – Part 2
In this note, I make 2 propositions. The first is that if not for the Japanese invasion of China, China would have remained a democracy.…
View More Canton Elegy – Part 2The Reid Commission’s Legacy – Part 1
All three books here were bought in Gerakbudaya Jalan Bukit PJ on 9 May 2024. This is a good bookstore concentrating on Malayan and Malaysian…
View More The Reid Commission’s Legacy – Part 1The Three Gorges – Part 1
Sandouping is a town in Yiling District of Yichang city in the Chinese province of Hubei. It is located on the southern bank of the…
View More The Three Gorges – Part 1