Edinburgh East Asian Studies – serie

Xu Xu and Wumingshi were among the most widely read authors in China during and after the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). This groundbreaking book re-establishes their importance within the popular Chinese literature of the 1940s with in-depth analyses of their innovative short stories and novels.

Examines why and how cultural encounters between East Asia and Europe are framed as failures Opens up fresh perspectives on intercultural encounters by focusing on failures as a paradigm Argues that a focus on failure helps to uncover the normative perspectives and expectations of intercultural encountersEstablishes that intercultural encounters add a valuable new perspective to the emerging field of failure studiesOften, the story of encounters between Asia and the West has been told as one of success, of cross-fertilization, reciprocal stimulation and an exchange of commodities and knowledge. Yet, the history of East-West encounters is riddled with prominent examples of misunderstandings, ignorance, unrealistic expectations or unbridgeable cultural differences. Bringing together scholars working across Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, English Studies and French Studies, this book presents new perspectives on such instances by theorizing epistemologies of failure. Providing examples from different periods and disciplines, it reveals how culturally informed expectations and biases, performative and linguistic practices and imaginative horizons specific to the cultures involved shape notions of failure and success. Case studies range from first encounters in the early modern period to contemporary novels and focus on actual or imaginary encounters between East Asia and Western European cultures.

Considers: Did race really matter? Racial ideology and political pragmatism in U.S.-Japan relationsBreaks up the traditional dichotomic view of race relationsEmploys a new and more functional theoretical approach to understand the negotiated quality of not only the Japanese racial identity, but also of racial identities in generalFirmly anchors Japanese history in a global frameworkIntroduces a wide array of new Japanese sources particularly on the topic of Japanese and African American relationsThis book retraces the process through which, at the turn of the twentieth century, the Japanese went from a racial anomaly to honorary members of the White race. It explores the interpretation of the Japanese race by Western powers, particularly the United States, during Japan's ascension as a great power between 1853 and 1919. Forced to cope with this new element in the Far East, Western nations such as the U.S. had to device a negotiation zone in which they could accommodate the Japanese and negotiate their racial identity. In this book, Tarik Merida, presents a new tool to study this process of negotiation: the Racial Middle Ground.

This book retraces the process through which, at the turn of the twentieth century, the Japanese went from a racial anomaly to honorary members of the White race. It explores the interpretation of the Japanese race by Western powers, particularly the United States, during Japan’s ascension as a great power between 1853 and 1919. Forced to cope with this new element in the Far East, Western nations such as the U.S. had to device a negotiation zone in which they could accommodate the Japanese and negotiate their racial identity. In this book, Tarik Merida, presents a new tool to study this process of negotiation: the Racial Middle Ground.

Chinese Literature in English Sinology takes an exciting new approach to Sino-British literary and cultural encounters in the nineteenth century, focusing specifically on British Sinologists' study of Chinese literature in the English language. It provides the first comprehensive exploration of their writings on Chinese literature as a form of literary knowledge constructed through the process of cultural translation a translingual and transcultural rewriting. The analysis reveals the interaction between Chinese and English literary concepts and paradigms in their study that gave rise to ideas about Chinese literature still influential today. Drawing attention to the political implication of literary knowledge, this book also demonstrates that Sinologists' interpretation of Chinese literature played an important role in shaping the British cultural imagination of China. Tracing this uncharted history, Chinese Literature in English Sinology contributes to present and future debates on the intercultural reading and studies of Chinese literature by offering a genealogical understanding of its origins and ramifications.

Chinese Literature in English Sinology takes an exciting new approach to Sino-British literary and cultural encounters in the nineteenth century, focusing specifically on British Sinologists’ study of Chinese literature in the English language. It provides the first comprehensive exploration of their writings on Chinese literature as a form of literary knowledge constructed through the process of cultural translation—a translingual and transcultural rewriting. The analysis reveals the interaction between Chinese and English literary concepts and paradigms in their study that gave rise to ideas about Chinese literature still influential today. Drawing attention to the political implication of literary knowledge, this book also demonstrates that Sinologists’ interpretation of Chinese literature played an important role in shaping the British cultural imagination of China. Tracing this uncharted history, Chinese Literature in English Sinology contributes to present and future debates on the intercultural reading and studies of Chinese literature by offering a genealogical understanding of its origins and ramifications.

Asia After Versailles addresses an important but neglected watershed for Asian nations - the response to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The Conference marked the end of a conflict which, although intrinsically European, had globalized the world on many levels, politically as well as economically, culturally and socially. It also stood at the beginning of a new order that saw the power centre shift towards the US and Asia. Asian countries and people played a significant but so far largely neglected role in this momentous development. Bringing together an international range of experts in the history of China, Japan, India and the Ottoman Empire/Turkey, this pioneering volume demonstrates the importance of Asia in the multifaceted global transformations that revolved around the Paris Peace Conference and its aftermath. Traditional historical analysis focuses almost exclusively on US and European responses to the Paris Peace Conference and the interwar order and often fails to take into account non-western, particularly Asian voices – this is the first book to demonstrate the far-reaching Asian dimensions of the impact of Versailles in an unprecedented way making this an invaluable and interdisciplinary resource for academics and researchers in the fields of politics, international relations, area studies and history.

Every day in the People’s Republic of China 70 million people receive help from the state through the minimum livelihood guarantee (dibao). What began as a reform in the city of Shanghai in the early 1990s is now a key component in the measures used by the Communist Party of China to maintain social stability and legitimacy. While scholars regularly discuss how effective dibao has been in alleviating poverty very little addresses what influenced its development. This book argues that in order to understand dibao we need to look at how the programme emerged and how it has developed in the years since. Drawing on newspaper articles, government reports and interviews with key officials and researchers, the book also addresses debate on the policy process in China as a whole.

Asia After Versailles addresses an important but neglected watershed for Asian nations - the response to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The Conference marked the end of a conflict which, although intrinsically European, had globalized the world on many levels, politically as well as economically, culturally and socially. It also stood at the beginning of a new order that saw the power centre shift towards the US and Asia. Asian countries and people played a significant but so far largely neglected role in this momentous development. Bringing together an international range of experts in the history of China, Japan, India and the Ottoman Empire/Turkey, this pioneering volume demonstrates the importance of Asia in the multifaceted global transformations that revolved around the Paris Peace Conference and its aftermath. Traditional historical analysis focuses almost exclusively on US and European responses to the Paris Peace Conference and the interwar order and often fails to take into account non-western, particularly Asian voices – this is the first book to demonstrate the far-reaching Asian dimensions of the impact of Versailles in an unprecedented way making this an invaluable and interdisciplinary resource for academics and researchers in the fields of politics, international relations, area studies and history.

Xu Xu and Wumingshi were among the most widely read authors in China during and after the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), but although they were an integral part of the Chinese literary scene their bestselling fiction has been given scant attention in histories of Chinese writing. This groundbreaking book, the first study of Xu Xu and Wumingshi in English or any other western language, re-establishes their importance within the popular Chinese literature of the 1940s. With in-depth analyses of their innovative short stories and novels, Christopher Rosenmeier demonstrates how these important writers incorporated and adapted narrative techniques from Shanghai modernist writers like Shi Zhecun and Mu Shiying, contesting the view that modernism had little lasting impact in China and firmly positioning these two figures within the literature of their times.