China and the Great War

China and the Great War PDF Author: Guoqi Xu
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521842123
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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China and the Great War

China and the Great War PDF Author: Guoqi Xu
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521842123
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
Publisher Description

Strangers on the Western Front

Strangers on the Western Front PDF Author: Guoqi Xu
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674060555
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
During World War I, Britain and France imported workers from their colonies to labor behind the front lines. The single largest group of support labor came not from imperial colonies, however, but from China. Xu Guoqi tells the remarkable story of the 140,000 Chinese men recruited for the Allied war effort. These laborers, mostly illiterate peasants from north China, came voluntarily and worked in Europe longer than any other group. Xu explores China’s reasons for sending its citizens to help the British and French (and, later, the Americans), the backgrounds of the workers, their difficult transit to Europe—across the Pacific, through Canada, and over the Atlantic—and their experiences with the Allied armies. It was the first encounter with Westerners for most of these Chinese peasants, and Xu also considers the story from their perspective: how they understood this distant war, the racism and suspicion they faced, and their attempts to hold on to their culture so far from home. In recovering this fascinating lost story, Xu highlights the Chinese contribution to World War I and illuminates the essential role these unsung laborers played in modern China’s search for a new national identity on the global stage.

The Next Great War?

The Next Great War? PDF Author: Richard N. Rosecrance
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262326787
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Experts consider how the lessons of World War I can help prevent U.S.–China conflict. A century ago, Europe's diplomats mismanaged the crisis triggered by the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the continent plunged into World War I, which killed millions, toppled dynasties, and destroyed empires. Today, as the hundredth anniversary of the Great War prompts renewed debate about the war's causes, scholars and policy experts are also considering the parallels between the present international system and the world of 1914. Are China and the United States fated to follow in the footsteps of previous great power rivals? Will today's alliances drag countries into tomorrow's wars? Can leaders manage power relationships peacefully? Or will East Asia's territorial and maritime disputes trigger a larger conflict, just as rivalries in the Balkans did in 1914? In The Next Great War?, experts reconsider the causes of World War I and explore whether the great powers of the twenty-first century can avoid the mistakes of Europe's statesmen in 1914 and prevent another catastrophic conflict. They find differences as well as similarities between today's world and the world of 1914—but conclude that only a deep understanding of those differences and early action to bring great powers together will likely enable the United States and China to avoid a great war. Contributors Alan Alexandroff, Graham Allison, Richard N. Cooper, Charles S. Maier, Steven E. Miller, Joseph S. Nye Jr., T. G. Otte, David K. Richards, Richard N. Rosecrance, Kevin Rudd, Jack Snyder, Etel Solingen, Arthur A. Stein, Stephen Van Evera

Betrayed Ally

Betrayed Ally PDF Author: Frances Wood
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 147387503X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
The Great War helped China emerge from humiliation and obscurity and take its first tentative steps as a full member of the global community.In 1912 the Qing Dynasty had ended. President Yuan Shikai, who seized power in 1914, offered the British 50,000 troops to recover the German colony in Shandong but this was refused. In 1916 China sent a vast army of labourers to Europe. In 1917 she declared war on Germany despite this effectively making the real enemy Japan an ally.The betrayal came when Japan was awarded the former German colony. This inspired the rise of Chinese nationalism and communism, enflamed by Russia. The scene was set for Japans incursions into China and thirty years of bloodshed.One hundred years on, the time is right for this accessible and authoritative account of Chinas role in The Great War and assessment of its national and international significance

China’s Good War

China’s Good War PDF Author: Rana Mitter
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674984269
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Chinese leaders once tried to suppress memories of their nation’s brutal experience during World War II. Now they celebrate the “victory”—a key foundation of China’s rising nationalism. For most of its history, the People’s Republic of China discouraged public discussion of the war against Japan. It was an experience of victimization—and one that saw Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek fighting for the same goals. But now, as China grows more powerful, the meaning of the war is changing. Rana Mitter argues that China’s reassessment of the war years is central to its newfound confidence abroad and to mounting nationalism at home. China’s Good War begins with the academics who shepherded the once-taboo subject into wider discourse. Encouraged by reforms under Deng Xiaoping, they researched the Guomindang war effort, collaboration with the Japanese, and China’s role in forming the post-1945 global order. But interest in the war would not stay confined to scholarly journals. Today public sites of memory—including museums, movies and television shows, street art, popular writing, and social media—define the war as a founding myth for an ascendant China. Wartime China emerges as victor rather than victim. The shifting story has nurtured a number of new views. One rehabilitates Chiang Kai-shek’s war efforts, minimizing the bloody conflicts between him and Mao and aiming to heal the wounds of the Cultural Revolution. Another narrative positions Beijing as creator and protector of the international order that emerged from the war—an order, China argues, under threat today largely from the United States. China’s radical reassessment of its collective memory of the war has created a new foundation for a people destined to shape the world.

Asia and the Great War

Asia and the Great War PDF Author: Guoqi Xu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199658196
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
There is no single volume that shines a light on Asia's collective involvement in the First World War, and the impact that war had on its societies. Moreover, no volume in any language explores the experiences Asian countries shared as they became embroiled, with divergent results, in the war and its repercussions. Asia and the Great War moves beyond the national or even international level by presenting a 'shared' history from non-national and transnational perspectives. Asian involvements make the Great War not only a true 'world' war but also a 'great' war. The war generated forces that would transform Asia both internally and externally. Asian involvement in the First World War is a unique chapter in both Asian and world history, with Asian participation transforming the meaning and implications of the broader conflict. Asia and the Great War also takes steps to recover memories of the war and re-evaluate the war in its Asian contexts. Asia's part in the war and the part the war played in the collective development of Asia represent the first steps of the long journey to full national independence and international recognition. This volume aims to bring the Great War more fully into Asian history and the people of Asia into the international history of the war, in the hope that the shared history could lay the groundwork for a shared future.

America's Coming War with China

America's Coming War with China PDF Author: Ted Galen Carpenter
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 146689301X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
One issue could lead to a disastrous war between the United States and China: Taiwan. A growing number of Taiwanese want independence for their island and regard mainland China as an alien nation. Mainland Chinese consider Taiwan a province that was stolen from China more than a century ago, and their patience about getting it back is wearing thin. Washington officially endorses a "one China" policy but also sells arms to Taiwan and maintains an implicit pledge to defend it from attack. That vague, muddled policy invites miscalculation by Taiwan or China or both. The three parties are on a collision course, and unless something dramatic changes, an armed conflict is virtually inevitable within a decade. Although there is still time to avert a calamity, time is running out. In this book, Carpenter tells the reader what the U.S. must do quickly to avoid being dragged into war.

The Improbable War

The Improbable War PDF Author: Christopher Coker
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199396272
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
The Improbable War explains why conflict between the USA and China cannot be ruled out. In 1914 war between the Great Powers was considered unlikely, yet it happened. We learn only from history, and popular though the First World War analogy is, the lessons we draw from its outbreak are usually mistaken. Among these errors is the tendency to over-estimate human rationality. All major conflicts of the past 300 years have been about the norms and rules of the international system. In China and the US the world confronts two 'exceptional' powers whose values differ markedly, with China bidding to challenge the current order. The 'Thucydidean Trap' - when a conservative status quo power confronts a rising new one - may also play its part in precipitating hostilities. To avoid stumbling into an avoidable war both Beijing and Washington need a coherent strategy, which neither of them has. History also reveals that war evolves continually. The next global conflict is likely to be played out in cyberspace and outer space and like all previous wars it will have devastating consequences. Such a war between the United States and China may seem improbable, but it is all too possible, which is why we need to discuss it now.

Showdown

Showdown PDF Author: Jed L. Babbin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1621571203
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Will the U.S. go to war with China over Taiwan or oil? Yes-bestselling authors Ed Timperlake and Jed Babbin say Chinese aggression is virtually inevitable and in their new book, "Showdown", they address the threat of mainland China and Bush's promise to defend Taiwan - at any cost. "Showdown" offers indispensable strategies and tactics for the U.S. to respond to the Chinese military threat in this ongoing battle for democracy and freedom.

Leaving China

Leaving China PDF Author: James McMullan
Publisher: Algonquin Books
ISBN: 1616202556
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
The award-winning artist of Stink! recounts in more than 50 short essays and evocative illustrations how his early childhood in China and wartime journeys with his mother influenced his life and career.