The Man Shu, Book of the Southern Barbarians

The Man Shu, Book of the Southern Barbarians PDF Author: Chuo Fan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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The Man Shu, Book of the Southern Barbarians

The Man Shu, Book of the Southern Barbarians PDF Author: Chuo Fan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description


The River of Lost Footsteps

The River of Lost Footsteps PDF Author: Thant Myint-U
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374707901
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
For nearly two decades Western governments and a growing activist community have been frustrated in their attempts to bring about a freer and more democratic Burma—through sanctions and tourist boycotts—only to see an apparent slide toward even harsher dictatorship. But what do we really know about Burma and its history? And what can Burma's past tell us about the present and even its future? In The River of Lost Footsteps, Thant Myint-U tells the story of modern Burma, in part through a telling of his own family's history, in an interwoven narrative that is by turns lyrical, dramatic, and appalling. His maternal grandfather, U Thant, rose from being the schoolmaster of a small town in the Irrawaddy Delta to become the UN secretary-general in the 1960s. And on his father's side, the author is descended from a long line of courtiers who served at Burma's Court of Ava for nearly two centuries. Through their stories and others, he portrays Burma's rise and decline in the modern world, from the time of Portuguese pirates and renegade Mughal princes through the decades of British colonialism, the devastation of World War II, and a sixty-year civil war that continues today and is the longest-running war anywhere in the world. The River of Lost Footsteps is a work both personal and global, a distinctive contribution that makes Burma accessible and enthralling.

The Birth of Vietnam

The Birth of Vietnam PDF Author: Keith Weller Taylor
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520343107
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
Vietnamese history prior to the tenth century has often been treated as a branch of Chinese history, but the Vietnamese side of the story can no longer be ignored. In this volume Keith Taylor draws on both Chinese and Vietnamese sources to provide a balanced view of the early history of Vietnam.

One Thousand Years - The Stories of Giao Châu, the Kingdoms of Linyi, Funan and Zhenla

One Thousand Years - The Stories of Giao Châu, the Kingdoms of Linyi, Funan and Zhenla PDF Author: Tan Pham
Publisher: 315Kio Publishing
ISBN: 0473635283
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 554

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Book Description
During the Vietnam War, the country was divided at the 17th parallel. About 140 kilometres north of this dividing line is a mountain pass called Ngang pass. The land south of this pass, about 60 per cent of present-day Vietnam, was occupied for centuries by the kingdoms of Linyi, Funan and Zhenla. But most people either have not heard of them or have only vague ideas about them. This book is about these kingdoms. North of Ngang pass, Giao Châu, was ruled by northern dynasties for over a thousand years from the 2nd century BCE to the 10th century CE, barring a few intervals of independence. This volume also tells how the people of Giao Châu came out of this long period to become an independent nation and why they did not want to become part of dynastic China. This is Volume II of the book series, “A Traveller’s Story of Vietnam’s Past”; it continues where Volume I, “The Bronze Drums and The Earrings”, ends. The book contains 73 figures and illustrations. It tells the stories of familiar Vietnamese heroes like the Trưng sisters, Lady Triệu, the Black Emperor and Ngô Quyền. It also discusses the beginning of Buddhism in Vietnam and the stories of Shi Xie’s clan. The stories of Linyi’s kings and how the bloodthirsty Fan Wen and his successors prevented the Northern Dynasties from going beyond the Ngang pass are also explained. The expansion of the Funan territory from southern Vietnam to the Malay Peninsula by Fan Shiman is included. The little-known Nanzhao-An Nam War is also told with some details. The battle of the Bạch Đằng river in 938, when Giao Châu (Vietnam) gained independence, is recounted. Like Volume I, many places associated with historical events are also described in the book, including the sanctuary of Mỹ Sơn and its donation by King Bhavavarman. Chapter 1 – A summary of this book Chapter 2 – Under the Han - Giao Châu I Chapter 3 – Shi Xie and the beginning of Buddhism in Vietnam - Lady Triệu rebellion - Giao Châu II Chapter 4 – A forest town - the kingdom of Linyi and the Fans - A Generation of Raiders - Linyi I Chapter 5 – One hundred years of raids and plunders (336 to 446) - Linyi II Chapter 6 – The end of Linyi - Linyi III Chapter 7 – The inscriptions and the Varman’s - Linyi IV Chapter 8 – The Roman medals and the Óc Eo culture - Funan/Zhenla I Chapter 9 – The Kingdoms of Funan and Zhenla - Funan/Zhenla II Chapter 10 ̶ Pre-Angkor Inscriptions and three Khmer towers - Funan/Zhenla III Chapter 11 – Ten thousand springs or Vạn Xuân (542-602) - Giao Châu III Chapter 12 – The Black Emperor - The Great Father and Mother King or Bố Cái Đại Vương - Giao Châu IV Chapter 13 – Surrounded by rivers - A city of lakes: Hanoi, a nation capital - Giao Châu V Chapter 14 – The Nanzhao-An Nam war - Giao Châu VI Chapter 15 – Prelude to independence - Giao Châu VII Chapter 16 – The Dawn of Independence - Giao Châu VIII Chapter 17 – Conclusions Appendix 1 – Sources of Vietnamese history in the Chinese language used in this book Appendix 2 – Sources of Vietnamese history by Vietnamese authors written before the 19th century Appendix 3 – Names in Pinyin Chinese, English, and Vietnamese Appendix 4 – Polities under the Northern Rule period Appendix 5 – Giao Chỉ (Jiaozhi), Giao Châu (Jiaozhou), Luy Lâu (Leilou) and Long Biên (Longbian) Appendix 6 – List of Governors, Prefects etc. Appendix 7 – In Search of ancient Hanoi Appendix 8 – Ma Yuan’s expeditions Appendix 9 – The Kings of Linyi Appendix 10 ̶ The Kings of Funan and Zhenla Appendix 11 – The land that was Linyi Appendix 12 – Citadels of blood and gold Appendix 13 – An eyewitness account of the Nanzhao-An Nam war Appendix 14 – The population question Appendix 15 – Of li, bu, chi, liang, and jin Appendix 16 – Museums in Southern Vietnam Bibliography

The Genesis of East Asia, 221 B.C.-A.D. 907

The Genesis of East Asia, 221 B.C.-A.D. 907 PDF Author: Charles Holcombe
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824864751
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
The Genesis of East Asia examines in a comprehensive and novel way the critically formative period when a culturally coherent geopolitical region identifiable as East Asia first took shape. By sifting through an impressive array of both primary material and modern interpretations, Charles Holcombe unravels what “East Asia” means, and why. He brings to bear archaeological, textual, and linguistic evidence to elucidate how the region developed through mutual stimulation and consolidation from its highly plural origins into what we now think of as the nation-states of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Beginning with the Qin dynasty conquest of 221 B.C. which brought large portions of what are now Korea and Vietnam within China’s frontiers, the book goes on to examine the period of intense interaction that followed with the many scattered local tribal cultures then under China’s imperial sway as well as across its borders. Even the distant Japanese islands could not escape being profoundly transformed by developments on the mainland. Eventually, under the looming shadow of the Chinese empire, independent native states and civilizations matured for the first time in both Japan and Korea, and one frontier region, later known as Vietnam, moved toward independence. Exhaustively researched and engagingly written, this study of state formation in East Asia will be required reading for students and scholars of ancient and medieval East Asian history. It will be invaluable as well to anyone interested in the problems of ethno-nationalism in the post-Cold War era.

Stories from an Ancient Land

Stories from an Ancient Land PDF Author: Magnus Fiskesjö
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1789208882
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
The Wa people have a rich civilization of their own, and a deep history in the mountains of Southeast Asia. Their mythology suggests their land is the first place inhabited by humans, which they care for on behalf of the world. This book introduces aspects of Wa culture, including their approach to the world’s troubles and the lessons others might learn from it. It also presents a new interpretation of Wa headhunting, questioning explanations that see it as a primitive custom, and instead placing it within the fraught history of the last few centuries.

Writing the South Seas

Writing the South Seas PDF Author: Brian C. Bernards
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 029580615X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Postcolonial literature about the South Seas, or Nanyang, examines the history of Chinese migration, localization, and interethnic exchange in Southeast Asia, where Sinophone settler cultures evolved independently by adapting to their "New World" and mingling with native cultures. Writing the South Seas explains why Nanyang encounters, neglected by most literary histories, should be considered crucial to the national literatures of China and Southeast Asia.

Ancient Southeast Asia

Ancient Southeast Asia PDF Author: John Norman Miksic
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317279042
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 654

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Book Description
Ancient Southeast Asia provides readers with a much needed synthesis of the latest discoveries and research in the archaeology of the region, presenting the evolution of complex societies in Southeast Asia from the protohistoric period, beginning around 500BC, to the arrival of British and Dutch colonists in 1600. Well-illustrated throughout, this comprehensive account explores the factors which established Southeast Asia as an area of unique cultural fusion. Miksic and Goh explore how the local population exploited the abundant resources available, developing maritime transport routes which resulted in economic and cultural wealth, including some of the most elaborate art styles and monumental complexes ever constructed. The book’s broad geographical and temporal coverage, including a chapter on the natural environment, provides readers with the context needed to understand this staggeringly diverse region. It utilizes French, Dutch, Chinese, Malay-Indonesian and Burmese sources and synthesizes interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and data from archaeology, history and art history. Offering key opportunities for comparative research with other centres of early socio-economic complexity, Ancient Southeast Asia establishes the area’s importance in world history.

The Mists of Rāmañña

The Mists of Rāmañña PDF Author: Michael A. Aung-Thwin
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824874412
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
Scholars have long accepted the belief that a Theravada Buddhist Mon kingdom, Rāmaññadesa, flourished in coastal Lower Burma until it was conquered in 1057 by King Aniruddha of Pagan—which then became, in essence, the new custodian and repository of Mon culture in the Upper Burmese interior. This scenario, which Aung-Thwin calls the "Mon Paradigm," has circumscribed much of the scholarship on early Burma and significantly shaped the history of Southeast Asia for more than a century. Now, in a masterful reassessment of Burmese history, Michael Aung-Thwin reexamines the original contemporary accounts and sources without finding any evidence of an early Theravada Mon polity or a conquest by Aniruddha. The paradigm, he finds, cannot be sustained. How, when, and why did the Mon Paradigm emerge? Aung-Thwin meticulously traces the paradigm's creation to the merging of two temporally, causally, and contextually unrelated Mon and Burmese narratives, which were later synthesized in English by colonial officials and scholars. Thus there was no single originating source, only a late and mistaken conflation of sources. The conceptual, methodological, and empirical ramifications of these findings are significant. The prevalent view that state-formation began in the maritime regions of Southeast Asia with trade and commerce rather than in the interior with agriculture must now be reassessed. In addition, a more rigorous look at the actual scope and impact of a romanticized Mon culture in the region is required. Other issues important to the field of early Burma and Southeast Asian studies, including the process of "Indianization," the characterization of "classical" states, and the advent and spread of Theravada Buddhism, are also directly affected by Aung-Thwin’s work. Finally, it provides a geo-political, cultural, and economic alternative to what has become an ethnic interpretation of Burma’s history. An electronic version of this book is freely available thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched, a collaborative initiative designed to make high-quality books open access for the public good. The open-access version of this book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means that the work may be freely downloaded and shared for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. Derivative works and commercial uses require permission from the publisher.

Tang China in Multi-Polar Asia

Tang China in Multi-Polar Asia PDF Author: Zhenping Wang
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824837886
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
Using a synthetic narrative approach, this ambitious work uses the lens of multipolarity to analyze Tang China’s (618–907) relations with Turkestan; the Korean states of Koguryŏ, Silla, and Paekche; the state of Parhae in Manchuria; and the Nanzhao and Tibetan kingdoms. Without any one entity able to dominate Asia’s geopolitical landscape, the author argues that relations among these countries were quite fluid and dynamic—an interpretation that departs markedly from the prevalent view of China fixed at the center of a widespread “tribute system.” To cope with external affairs in a tumultuous world, Tang China employed a dual management system that allowed both central and local officials to conduct foreign affairs. The court authorized Tang local administrators to receive foreign visitors, forward their diplomatic letters to the capital, and manage contact with outsiders whose territories bordered on China. Not limited to handling routine matters, local officials used their knowledge of border situations to influence the court’s foreign policy. Some even took the liberty of acting without the court’s authorization when an emergency occurred, thus adding another layer to multipolarity in the region’s geopolitics. The book also sheds new light on the ideological foundation of Tang China’s foreign policy. Appropriateness, efficacy, expedience, and mutual self-interest guided the court’s actions abroad. Although officials often used “virtue” and “righteousness” in policy discussions and announcements, these terms were not abstract universal principles but justifications for the pursuit of self-interest by those involved. Detailed philological studies reveal that in the realm of international politics, “virtue” and “righteousness” were in fact viewed as pragmatic and utilitarian in nature. Comprehensive and authoritative, Tang China in Multi-Polar Asia is a major work on Tang foreign relations that will reconceptualize our understanding of the complexities of diplomacy and war in imperial China.