Intellectually and visually stimulating, this important landmark book looks at the religious, political, social and artistic significance of the Imperial tombs of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It traces the evolutionary development of the most elaborately beautiful imperial tombs to examine fundamental issues on death and the afterlife in one of the world's most sophisticated civilizations. Selected tombs are presented in terms of their structure, artistic programs and their purposes. The...

A moving portrait of two Dunera Boys, from Kristallnacht in Vienna to VE Day in Melbourne, that complicates the traditional story of the Dunera.Popular culture has mythologised the Dunera Boys – but who were the real men who sailed on the infamous ship, and how did the voyage transform their lives?Art historian Tonia Eckfeld draws on a deeply personal history to tell the story of her father and her uncle, Jewish refugees whose lives were shaped indelibly by their wartime ex...

A Story of Vietnam is the first comprehensive and inclusive history of Vietnam written in English. It relates Vietnam's past from its origins to the present (2010). It gives as much emphasis to culture as to politics. I call it a story and not a history, because I do not want it to be the usual conventional textbook, overburdened with interminable references and footnotes.A Story of Vietnam can provide a substantial reading material to students who are interested in Asia. To the hy...

The first HMS Iron Duke was a British Audacious-class central battery ironclad. She became the flagship of the China Station on 31 August 1871, one of the first large ships to use the Suez canal to reach the Far Easy. In an age of inefficient engines, her full sailing rig made her particularly suitable for operations in the Pacific Ocean. She returned to the UK in 1875 and joined the First Reserve Squadron.The China Station, established in 1865, had as its area of responsibility th...

*Includes Table of ContentsSir Alfred Comyn Lyalls History of India Volume 8: From the Close of the Seventeenth Century to the Present Time chronicles Anglo-Indian history, ending with the British dominion of India . A table of contents is included.

In the global world of the twenty-first century, martial arts are practised for self-defense and sporting purposes only. However, for thousands of years, they were a central feature of military practice in China and essential for the smooth functioning of society. This book, which opens with an intriguing account of the very first female martial artist, charts the history of combat and fighting techniques in China from the Bronze Age to the present. This broad panorama affords fascinating ...

Nelson Rand is an intrepid adventurer. Despite the warnings and threats against his life, he journeyed into the most dangerous parts of Southeast Asia to witness the plight of the oppressed. He hiked through the jungles of Laos to interview Hmong guerillas, the remnants of the rebel army that refused to surrender to the communist government.In Vietnam, he ventured into the central highlands to document the civil rights abuses suffered by the Montagard people, persecuted by the comm...

Shinto ("the way of the gods") is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan herself. It remains Japan's major religion besides Buddhism. "Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami. The kami of extraordinary people are even enshrined at some shrines. Th...

Yasser Elsheshtawy explores Dubai’s history from its beginnings as a small fishing village to its place on the world stage today, using historical narratives, travel descriptions, novels and fictional accounts by local writers to bring colour to his history of the city’s urban development.With the help of case studies and surveys this book explores the economic and political forces driving Dubai’s urban growth, its changing urbanity and its place within the global city network. Uni...

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 th...

Two Crises, Different Outcomes examines East Asian policy reactions to the two major crises of the last fifteen years: the global financial crisis of 2008–9 and the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98. The calamity of the late 1990s saw a massive meltdown concentrated in East Asia. In stark contrast, East Asia avoided the worst effects of the Lehman Brothers collapse, incurring relatively little damage when compared to the financial devastation unle...

This two-volume anthology conveniently contains useful academic tools for studying the combative arts. Each chapter will prove special to all interested in the intellectual side to the martial arts. Some chapters provide fine details for categorizing the variety of what we commonly refer to as "martial arts." Other chapters focus on the martial arts as living culture and social implications. The quality of instruction can either encourage negative traits such as violence or allow a practit...