Early Modern China and Northeast Asia
Cross-Border Perspectives

Evelyn Rawski presents a revisionist history of early modern China in the context of northeast Asian geopolitics and global maritime trade.

Evelyn S. Rawski (Author)

9781107093089, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 June 2015

350 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.64 kg

'… meticulously studied and eloquently written book … ground-breaking study of why and how was the northeast Asian region, in particular Korea and Japan, of irreplaceable importance not only as frontier for the Chinese Central Plain states but also as vital players in the shared geopolitical arena.' Hang Lin, De Gruyter

In this revisionist history of early modern China, Evelyn Rawski challenges the notion of Chinese history as a linear narrative of dynasties dominated by the Central Plains and Hans Chinese culture from a unique, peripheral perspective. Rawski argues that China has been shaped by its relations with Japan, Korea, the Jurchen/Manchu and Mongol States, and must therefore be viewed both within the context of a regional framework, and as part of a global maritime network of trade. Drawing on a rich variety of Japanese, Korean, Manchu and Chinese archival sources, Rawski analyses the conflicts and regime changes that accompanied the region's integration into the world economy during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Early Modern China and Northeast Asia places Sino-Korean and Sino-Japanese relations within the context of northeast Asian geopolitics, surveying complex relations which continue to this day.

Acknowledgements
Note on transcription and other conventions
Introduction
Part I. China in Regional and World History: 1. The northeast frontier in Chinese history
2. Transformations in early modern northeast Asia
Part II. Cultural Negotiations: 3. Unity and diversity in state rituals
4. Kinship and succession in China, Japan and Korea
5. Identity issues: the civilized/barbarian discourse
Conclusion
Epilogue: drawing boundaries in northeast Asia
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], Asian history [HBJF], General & world history [HBG]