Author: Teresa Canepa
Publisher: Ad Ilissvm
ISBN: 9781912168095
Category : China trade porcelain
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This lavishly illustrated book celebrates one of the most comprehensive and meticulously assembled private collections of Chinese export porcelain from the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) made at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province. The Lurie Collection, comprising about 170 porcelain pieces, contains examples that are exceptional not only for their aesthetic beauty and quality but also for their rarity or historical importance. This book makes a significant contribution to several fields of study, most notably those related to the production, design and trade of Jingdezhen export porcelain in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. An introduction places the diverse porcelains of the Lurie Collection in their historical context. It offers new insight into the European expansion to Asia in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, via both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which ultimately led to an unprecedented large-scale trade, transport and consumption of various types of Jingdezhen export porcelain throughout the world until the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644. The core of the book is the catalogue section, which is composed of 127 entries with comprehensive discussions and images of a selection of the Lurie porcelains. Whenever possible they are accompanied by images of excavated shards that originally formed part of similar porcelain pieces, establishing direct links to the Jingdezhen kilns where such pieces were produced. Multiple sources of evidence (textual, material and visual) shed light on the trading networks through which these Jingdezhen porcelains circulated, as well as the way in which they were acquired, used and appreciated by the different societies in Europe, the New World, Asia and the Middle East. Highlights include six kraak plates made during the Wanli reign (1573-1620) with the egret mark, which is found on a small number of pieces usually of very high quality, and the only known kraak armorial specifically ordered for the Spanish market in the 16th century. This finely potted plate, also dating to the Wanli reign, bears the impaled arms of García Hurtado de Mendoza, 4th Marquis of Cañete, and his wife, Teresa de Castro y de la Cueva. It was most probably ordered via Manila during the time Hurtado de Mendoza was Viceroy of Peru, between 1589 and 1596. This plate, together with a kraak plate bearing a pseudo-armorial, and a few pieces decorated in the so-called Transitional style and one other recovered from the Hatcher Junk (c.1643) made after European shapes, attest to the influence that the European merchants exerted on the porcelain production at Jingdezhen at the time.
Jingdezhen to the World
Author: Teresa Canepa
Publisher: Ad Ilissvm
ISBN: 9781912168095
Category : China trade porcelain
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This lavishly illustrated book celebrates one of the most comprehensive and meticulously assembled private collections of Chinese export porcelain from the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) made at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province. The Lurie Collection, comprising about 170 porcelain pieces, contains examples that are exceptional not only for their aesthetic beauty and quality but also for their rarity or historical importance. This book makes a significant contribution to several fields of study, most notably those related to the production, design and trade of Jingdezhen export porcelain in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. An introduction places the diverse porcelains of the Lurie Collection in their historical context. It offers new insight into the European expansion to Asia in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, via both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which ultimately led to an unprecedented large-scale trade, transport and consumption of various types of Jingdezhen export porcelain throughout the world until the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644. The core of the book is the catalogue section, which is composed of 127 entries with comprehensive discussions and images of a selection of the Lurie porcelains. Whenever possible they are accompanied by images of excavated shards that originally formed part of similar porcelain pieces, establishing direct links to the Jingdezhen kilns where such pieces were produced. Multiple sources of evidence (textual, material and visual) shed light on the trading networks through which these Jingdezhen porcelains circulated, as well as the way in which they were acquired, used and appreciated by the different societies in Europe, the New World, Asia and the Middle East. Highlights include six kraak plates made during the Wanli reign (1573-1620) with the egret mark, which is found on a small number of pieces usually of very high quality, and the only known kraak armorial specifically ordered for the Spanish market in the 16th century. This finely potted plate, also dating to the Wanli reign, bears the impaled arms of García Hurtado de Mendoza, 4th Marquis of Cañete, and his wife, Teresa de Castro y de la Cueva. It was most probably ordered via Manila during the time Hurtado de Mendoza was Viceroy of Peru, between 1589 and 1596. This plate, together with a kraak plate bearing a pseudo-armorial, and a few pieces decorated in the so-called Transitional style and one other recovered from the Hatcher Junk (c.1643) made after European shapes, attest to the influence that the European merchants exerted on the porcelain production at Jingdezhen at the time.
Publisher: Ad Ilissvm
ISBN: 9781912168095
Category : China trade porcelain
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This lavishly illustrated book celebrates one of the most comprehensive and meticulously assembled private collections of Chinese export porcelain from the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) made at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province. The Lurie Collection, comprising about 170 porcelain pieces, contains examples that are exceptional not only for their aesthetic beauty and quality but also for their rarity or historical importance. This book makes a significant contribution to several fields of study, most notably those related to the production, design and trade of Jingdezhen export porcelain in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. An introduction places the diverse porcelains of the Lurie Collection in their historical context. It offers new insight into the European expansion to Asia in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, via both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which ultimately led to an unprecedented large-scale trade, transport and consumption of various types of Jingdezhen export porcelain throughout the world until the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644. The core of the book is the catalogue section, which is composed of 127 entries with comprehensive discussions and images of a selection of the Lurie porcelains. Whenever possible they are accompanied by images of excavated shards that originally formed part of similar porcelain pieces, establishing direct links to the Jingdezhen kilns where such pieces were produced. Multiple sources of evidence (textual, material and visual) shed light on the trading networks through which these Jingdezhen porcelains circulated, as well as the way in which they were acquired, used and appreciated by the different societies in Europe, the New World, Asia and the Middle East. Highlights include six kraak plates made during the Wanli reign (1573-1620) with the egret mark, which is found on a small number of pieces usually of very high quality, and the only known kraak armorial specifically ordered for the Spanish market in the 16th century. This finely potted plate, also dating to the Wanli reign, bears the impaled arms of García Hurtado de Mendoza, 4th Marquis of Cañete, and his wife, Teresa de Castro y de la Cueva. It was most probably ordered via Manila during the time Hurtado de Mendoza was Viceroy of Peru, between 1589 and 1596. This plate, together with a kraak plate bearing a pseudo-armorial, and a few pieces decorated in the so-called Transitional style and one other recovered from the Hatcher Junk (c.1643) made after European shapes, attest to the influence that the European merchants exerted on the porcelain production at Jingdezhen at the time.
The City of Blue and White
Author: Anne Gerritsen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108499953
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 349
Book Description
A compelling examination of the ultimate global commodity, blue and white porcelain, from kiln to consumers across the globe.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108499953
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 349
Book Description
A compelling examination of the ultimate global commodity, blue and white porcelain, from kiln to consumers across the globe.
Puer Tea
Author: Jinghong Zhang
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295804874
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
Puer tea has been grown for centuries in the “Six Great Tea Mountains” of Yunnan Province, and in imperial China it was a prized commodity, traded to Tibet by horse or mule caravan via the so-called Tea Horse Road and presented as tribute to the emperor in Beijing. In the 1990s, as the tea’s noble lineage and unique process of aging and fermentation were rediscovered, it achieved cult status both in China and internationally. The tea became a favorite among urban connoisseurs who analyzed it in language comparable to that used in wine appreciation and paid skyrocketing prices. In 2007, however, local events and the international economic crisis caused the Puer market to collapse. Puer Tea traces the rise, climax, and crash of this phenomenon. With ethnographic attention to the spaces in which Puer tea is harvested, processed, traded, and consumed, anthropologist Jinghong Zhang constructs a vivid account of the transformation of a cottage handicraft into a major industry—with predictable risks and unexpected consequences. Watch the associated videos at https://archive.org/details/PUERTEADVD1.
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295804874
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264
Book Description
Puer tea has been grown for centuries in the “Six Great Tea Mountains” of Yunnan Province, and in imperial China it was a prized commodity, traded to Tibet by horse or mule caravan via the so-called Tea Horse Road and presented as tribute to the emperor in Beijing. In the 1990s, as the tea’s noble lineage and unique process of aging and fermentation were rediscovered, it achieved cult status both in China and internationally. The tea became a favorite among urban connoisseurs who analyzed it in language comparable to that used in wine appreciation and paid skyrocketing prices. In 2007, however, local events and the international economic crisis caused the Puer market to collapse. Puer Tea traces the rise, climax, and crash of this phenomenon. With ethnographic attention to the spaces in which Puer tea is harvested, processed, traded, and consumed, anthropologist Jinghong Zhang constructs a vivid account of the transformation of a cottage handicraft into a major industry—with predictable risks and unexpected consequences. Watch the associated videos at https://archive.org/details/PUERTEADVD1.
East Asia in the World
Author: Anne Prescott
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317509714
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 301
Book Description
From the Foundations in Global Studies series, this text offers students a fresh, comprehensive, multidisciplinary entry point to East Asia. After a brief introduction to the study of East Asia, the early chapters of the book survey the essentials of East Asian history; important historical narratives; and the region's languages, religions, and global connections. Students are guided through the material with relevant maps, resource boxes, and text boxes that support and guide further independent exploration of the topics at hand. The second half of the book features interdisciplinary case studies, each of which focuses on a specific country or region and a particular issue. Each chapter gives a flavor for the cultural distinctiveness of the particular country yet also draws attention to global linkages. Readers will come away from this book with an understanding of the larger historical, political, and cultural frameworks that shaped East Asia as we know it today, and of current issues that have relevance in Asia and beyond.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317509714
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 301
Book Description
From the Foundations in Global Studies series, this text offers students a fresh, comprehensive, multidisciplinary entry point to East Asia. After a brief introduction to the study of East Asia, the early chapters of the book survey the essentials of East Asian history; important historical narratives; and the region's languages, religions, and global connections. Students are guided through the material with relevant maps, resource boxes, and text boxes that support and guide further independent exploration of the topics at hand. The second half of the book features interdisciplinary case studies, each of which focuses on a specific country or region and a particular issue. Each chapter gives a flavor for the cultural distinctiveness of the particular country yet also draws attention to global linkages. Readers will come away from this book with an understanding of the larger historical, political, and cultural frameworks that shaped East Asia as we know it today, and of current issues that have relevance in Asia and beyond.
Blue & White
Author: John Carswell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780714124490
Category : Blue and white ware
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
This lavishly illustrated book traces the variety of paths followed by Chinese blue and white porcelain as it has travelled around the world. The illustrations come from museums and private collections worldwide.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780714124490
Category : Blue and white ware
Languages : en
Pages : 208
Book Description
This lavishly illustrated book traces the variety of paths followed by Chinese blue and white porcelain as it has travelled around the world. The illustrations come from museums and private collections worldwide.
鯉躍龍門
Author: Teresa Canepa
Publisher: Ad Ilissvm
ISBN: 9781912168163
Category : Porcelain, Chinese
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book celebrates the most important collection of 17th-century Chinese porcelain in the world, assembled by the distinguished British diplomat Sir Michael Butler. His passion for porcelain is clearly reflected in the over eight hundred pieces he collected and lived with at his home and private museum in Dorset. The pots (as Sir Michael called them), many of extreme rarity or exquisite quality, give testimony to the incredible depth of knowledge he acquired over five decades and his outstanding contribution to research and education in this previously neglected field of study. This lavish and comprehensive collection covers most types of porcelain produced at Jingdezhen, in Jiangxi province, during the 17th century. The variety of the pieces carefully acquired by Sir Michael reflects the great innovative spirit of the highly skilled Jingdezhen potters and painters at a time when they were released from the controls of Imperial patronage, between the end of the reign of the Ming Emperor Wanli in 1620 and the re-establishment of the Imperial kilns by the Qing Emperor Kangxi in 1683. It is a study collection of porcelain unrivalled in its breath and rarity that demonstrates the stylistic and qualitative evolution which occurred in Chinese porcelain production during the 17th century. An introduction written by Katharine Butler tells the fascinating story of the circumstances that encouraged her father to acquire, collect and passionately study Chinese porcelain of the 17th century; how he found rare pieces with dates, interesting inscriptions, seal marksor narrative scenes; and how the collection and his scholarly publications came to be internationally renowned. The core of the book is composed of nine sections presenting the main categories of porcelains in the collection: Late Ming, High Transitional, Shunzhi, Early Kangxi, Mid-Late Kangxi, Monochromes and Famille Verte, as well as disputed pieces. Some of the highlights are the extremely rare High Transitional pieces painted only in overglaze enamels dating to the Chongzhen reign, c.1640-43; the first piece acquired by Sir Michael, a green enamel winepot, dating to the early Kangxi reign, c.1665-70; a group of rare dated Zhonghe Tang pieces painted in underglaze blue and red, and an early Kangxi basin finely painted in underglaze blue and red with a Master of the Rocks landscape, dating to c.1670-75. Leaping the Dragon Gate refers to the symbolic metamorphosis from a humble carp to a mighty dragon - the most powerful of the Four Divine Creatures - that a student would undergo on succeeding in the Jinshi or Imperial civil service examinations. Passing these examinations required years, sometimes decades, of enormous effort to acquire the requisite educational merit and success was very rare. It is a worthy metaphor for Sir Michael's scholarly achievement. This 384-page book with over 600 colour illustrations is a catalogue raisonné of almost his entire 17th century porcelain collection, including many previously unpublished pieces. In the spirit of keeping the family legacy of acquisition and scholarship alive, the authors have included a few important, recently purchased pieces and also have revised and expanded the list of all known dated pieces of 17th Century Chinese porcelain in the world that Sir Michael compiled in his 1992 USA exhibition catalogue.
Publisher: Ad Ilissvm
ISBN: 9781912168163
Category : Porcelain, Chinese
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book celebrates the most important collection of 17th-century Chinese porcelain in the world, assembled by the distinguished British diplomat Sir Michael Butler. His passion for porcelain is clearly reflected in the over eight hundred pieces he collected and lived with at his home and private museum in Dorset. The pots (as Sir Michael called them), many of extreme rarity or exquisite quality, give testimony to the incredible depth of knowledge he acquired over five decades and his outstanding contribution to research and education in this previously neglected field of study. This lavish and comprehensive collection covers most types of porcelain produced at Jingdezhen, in Jiangxi province, during the 17th century. The variety of the pieces carefully acquired by Sir Michael reflects the great innovative spirit of the highly skilled Jingdezhen potters and painters at a time when they were released from the controls of Imperial patronage, between the end of the reign of the Ming Emperor Wanli in 1620 and the re-establishment of the Imperial kilns by the Qing Emperor Kangxi in 1683. It is a study collection of porcelain unrivalled in its breath and rarity that demonstrates the stylistic and qualitative evolution which occurred in Chinese porcelain production during the 17th century. An introduction written by Katharine Butler tells the fascinating story of the circumstances that encouraged her father to acquire, collect and passionately study Chinese porcelain of the 17th century; how he found rare pieces with dates, interesting inscriptions, seal marksor narrative scenes; and how the collection and his scholarly publications came to be internationally renowned. The core of the book is composed of nine sections presenting the main categories of porcelains in the collection: Late Ming, High Transitional, Shunzhi, Early Kangxi, Mid-Late Kangxi, Monochromes and Famille Verte, as well as disputed pieces. Some of the highlights are the extremely rare High Transitional pieces painted only in overglaze enamels dating to the Chongzhen reign, c.1640-43; the first piece acquired by Sir Michael, a green enamel winepot, dating to the early Kangxi reign, c.1665-70; a group of rare dated Zhonghe Tang pieces painted in underglaze blue and red, and an early Kangxi basin finely painted in underglaze blue and red with a Master of the Rocks landscape, dating to c.1670-75. Leaping the Dragon Gate refers to the symbolic metamorphosis from a humble carp to a mighty dragon - the most powerful of the Four Divine Creatures - that a student would undergo on succeeding in the Jinshi or Imperial civil service examinations. Passing these examinations required years, sometimes decades, of enormous effort to acquire the requisite educational merit and success was very rare. It is a worthy metaphor for Sir Michael's scholarly achievement. This 384-page book with over 600 colour illustrations is a catalogue raisonné of almost his entire 17th century porcelain collection, including many previously unpublished pieces. In the spirit of keeping the family legacy of acquisition and scholarship alive, the authors have included a few important, recently purchased pieces and also have revised and expanded the list of all known dated pieces of 17th Century Chinese porcelain in the world that Sir Michael compiled in his 1992 USA exhibition catalogue.
The Pilgrim Art
Author: Robert Finlay
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520945387
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 461
Book Description
Illuminating one thousand years of history, The Pilgrim Art explores the remarkable cultural influence of Chinese porcelain around the globe. Cobalt ore was shipped from Persia to China in the fourteenth century, where it was used to decorate porcelain for Muslims in Southeast Asia, India, Persia, and Iraq. Spanish galleons delivered porcelain to Peru and Mexico while aristocrats in Europe ordered tableware from Canton. The book tells the fascinating story of how porcelain became a vehicle for the transmission and assimilation of artistic symbols, themes, and designs across vast distances—from Japan and Java to Egypt and England. It not only illustrates how porcelain influenced local artistic traditions but also shows how it became deeply intertwined with religion, economics, politics, and social identity. Bringing together many strands of history in an engaging narrative studded with fascinating vignettes, this is a history of cross-cultural exchange focused on an exceptional commodity that illuminates the emergence of what is arguably the first genuinely global culture.
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520945387
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 461
Book Description
Illuminating one thousand years of history, The Pilgrim Art explores the remarkable cultural influence of Chinese porcelain around the globe. Cobalt ore was shipped from Persia to China in the fourteenth century, where it was used to decorate porcelain for Muslims in Southeast Asia, India, Persia, and Iraq. Spanish galleons delivered porcelain to Peru and Mexico while aristocrats in Europe ordered tableware from Canton. The book tells the fascinating story of how porcelain became a vehicle for the transmission and assimilation of artistic symbols, themes, and designs across vast distances—from Japan and Java to Egypt and England. It not only illustrates how porcelain influenced local artistic traditions but also shows how it became deeply intertwined with religion, economics, politics, and social identity. Bringing together many strands of history in an engaging narrative studded with fascinating vignettes, this is a history of cross-cultural exchange focused on an exceptional commodity that illuminates the emergence of what is arguably the first genuinely global culture.
Cultures of Knowledge
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004219366
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
Looking at knowledge transmission as a cultural feature, this book isolates and examines the individual factors that affect knowledge in the making and created uniquely Chinese cultures of knowledge. The volume is organized into four sections: Internode, Imperial Court, Agora, and Scholarly Arts. Each has a theoretical introduction, followed by two core contributions from experts in Chinese history. The section concludes with a ‘reflection’ by a historian of Western Technology who scrutinizes each sphere and identifies the points that reflect universal technological experience. The combination of broadly sketched theoretical introductions and detailed core contributions provides an unparalleled insight into pre-modern Chinese history from the Song to early Qing dynasty, revealing Chinese attitudes towards innovation and invention.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004219366
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
Looking at knowledge transmission as a cultural feature, this book isolates and examines the individual factors that affect knowledge in the making and created uniquely Chinese cultures of knowledge. The volume is organized into four sections: Internode, Imperial Court, Agora, and Scholarly Arts. Each has a theoretical introduction, followed by two core contributions from experts in Chinese history. The section concludes with a ‘reflection’ by a historian of Western Technology who scrutinizes each sphere and identifies the points that reflect universal technological experience. The combination of broadly sketched theoretical introductions and detailed core contributions provides an unparalleled insight into pre-modern Chinese history from the Song to early Qing dynasty, revealing Chinese attitudes towards innovation and invention.
How to Read Chinese Ceramics
Author: Denise Patry Leidy
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 1588395715
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 146
Book Description
Among the most revered and beloved artworks in China are ceramics—sculptures and vessels that have been utilized to embellish tombs, homes, and studies, to drink tea and wine, and to convey social and cultural meanings such as good wishes and religious beliefs. Since the eighth century, Chinese ceramics, particularly porcelain, have played an influential role around the world as trade introduced their beauty and surpassing craft to countless artists in Europe, America, and elsewhere. Spanning five millennia, the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of Chinese ceramics represents a great diversity of materials, shapes, and subjects. The remarkable selections presented in this volume, which include both familiar examples and unusual ones, will acquaint readers with the prodigious accomplishments of Chinese ceramicists from Neolithic times to the modern era. As with previous books in the How to Read series, How to Read Chinese Ceramics elucidates the works to encourage deeper understanding and appreciation of the meaning of individual pieces and the culture in which they were created. From exquisite jars, bowls, bottles, and dishes to the elegantly sculpted Chan Patriarch Bodhidharma and the gorgeous Vase with Flowers of the Four Seasons, How to Read Chinese Ceramics is a captivating introduction to one of the greatest artistic traditions in Asian culture.
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 1588395715
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 146
Book Description
Among the most revered and beloved artworks in China are ceramics—sculptures and vessels that have been utilized to embellish tombs, homes, and studies, to drink tea and wine, and to convey social and cultural meanings such as good wishes and religious beliefs. Since the eighth century, Chinese ceramics, particularly porcelain, have played an influential role around the world as trade introduced their beauty and surpassing craft to countless artists in Europe, America, and elsewhere. Spanning five millennia, the Metropolitan Museum’s collection of Chinese ceramics represents a great diversity of materials, shapes, and subjects. The remarkable selections presented in this volume, which include both familiar examples and unusual ones, will acquaint readers with the prodigious accomplishments of Chinese ceramicists from Neolithic times to the modern era. As with previous books in the How to Read series, How to Read Chinese Ceramics elucidates the works to encourage deeper understanding and appreciation of the meaning of individual pieces and the culture in which they were created. From exquisite jars, bowls, bottles, and dishes to the elegantly sculpted Chan Patriarch Bodhidharma and the gorgeous Vase with Flowers of the Four Seasons, How to Read Chinese Ceramics is a captivating introduction to one of the greatest artistic traditions in Asian culture.
Forgotten Ally
Author: Rana Mitter
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 054784056X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 485
Book Description
A history of the Chinese experience in WWII, named a Book of the Year by both the Economist and the Financial Times: “Superb” (The New York Times Book Review). In 1937, two years before Hitler invaded Poland, Chinese troops clashed with Japanese occupiers in the first battle of World War II. Joining with the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, China became the fourth great ally in a devastating struggle for its very survival. In this book, prize-winning historian Rana Mitter unfurls China’s drama of invasion, resistance, slaughter, and political intrigue as never before. Based on groundbreaking research, this gripping narrative focuses on a handful of unforgettable characters, including Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, and Chiang’s American chief of staff, “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell—and also recounts the sacrifice and resilience of everyday Chinese people through the horrors of bombings, famines, and the infamous Rape of Nanking. More than any other twentieth-century event, World War II was crucial in shaping China’s worldview, making Forgotten Ally both a definitive work of history and an indispensable guide to today’s China and its relationship with the West.
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 054784056X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 485
Book Description
A history of the Chinese experience in WWII, named a Book of the Year by both the Economist and the Financial Times: “Superb” (The New York Times Book Review). In 1937, two years before Hitler invaded Poland, Chinese troops clashed with Japanese occupiers in the first battle of World War II. Joining with the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, China became the fourth great ally in a devastating struggle for its very survival. In this book, prize-winning historian Rana Mitter unfurls China’s drama of invasion, resistance, slaughter, and political intrigue as never before. Based on groundbreaking research, this gripping narrative focuses on a handful of unforgettable characters, including Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, and Chiang’s American chief of staff, “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell—and also recounts the sacrifice and resilience of everyday Chinese people through the horrors of bombings, famines, and the infamous Rape of Nanking. More than any other twentieth-century event, World War II was crucial in shaping China’s worldview, making Forgotten Ally both a definitive work of history and an indispensable guide to today’s China and its relationship with the West.