This book critically examines the Confucian political imagination and its influence on the contemporary Chinese dream of a powerful China. It views Confucianism as the ideological supplement to a powerful state that is challenging Western hegemony, and not as a political philosophy that need not concern us. Eske Mollgaard shows that Confucians, despite their traditionalist ways, have the will to transform the existing socio-ethical order. The volume discusses the central features of the Confucian political imaginary, the nature of Confucian discourse, Confucian revivals, Confucian humanism and civility, and the political ideal of the Great Unity. It concludes by considering if Confucianism can be universalized as an ideology in competition with liberal democracy.

The Russian nobleman Ivan Ivanovich Pouschine is most recognized for two achievements: his leadership role in the 1825 Decembrist uprising agains Russia's tsarist government and his set of poignant memoirs about his dear friend Alexander Pushkin. Pouschine's historical and cultural significance, although often subtle, extends much further, however. After graduating from Tsar Alexander I's new Lyceum in 1817, Pouschine spent several years in the military and government service, serving as an officer and judge. All the while, he was an active leader of various secret societies in both St. Petersburg and Moscow that discussed the viability of a democratic government for Russia. He went on to become a key organizer of the resulting 1825 Decembrist uprising, for which he was sentenced to thirty years of harsh exile in Siberia. In exile, Pouschine involved himself in a variety of self-motivated pursuits: leading efforts to improve intellectual discourse in remote Siberia; managing the Decembrists' cooperative, and serving as the center of the exiles' social circle. In this book, Princeton scholar Anna Pouschine will explore her ancestor's correspondence by examining how his letters created personal fulfillment in a desolate environment at a difficult moment in his country's storied past.

This open access book considers a pivotal era in Chinese history from a global perspective. This book's insight into Chinese and international history offers timely and challenging perspectives on initiatives like "Chinese characteristics", "The New Silk Road" and "One Belt, One Road" in broad historical context. Global History with Chinese Characteristics analyses the feeble state capacity of Qing China questioning the so-called "High Qing" (sheng qing ) era's economic prosperity as the political system was set into a "power paradox" or "supremacy dilemma". This is a new thesis introduced by the author demonstrating that interventionist states entail weak governance. Macao and Marseille as a new case study aims to compare Mediterranean and South China markets to provide new insights into both modern eras' rising trade networks, non-official institutions and interventionist impulses of autocratic states such as China's Qing and Spain's Bourbon empires.

Unbounded Loyalty investigates how frontiers worked before the modern nation-state was invented. The perspective is that of the people in the borderlands who shifted their allegiance from the post-Tang regimes in North China to the new Liao empire (907-1125). Naomi Standen offers new ways of thinking about borders, loyalty, and identity in premodern China. She takes as her starting point the recognition that, at the time, ""China"" did not exist as a coherent entity, neither politically nor geographically, neither ethnically nor ideologically. Political borders were not the fixed geographical divisions of the modern world, but a function of relationships between leaders and followers. When local leaders changed allegiance, the borderline moved with them. Cultural identity did not determine people's actions: Ethnicity did not exist. In this context, she argues, collaboration, resistance, and accommodation were not meaningful concepts, and tenth-century understandings of loyalty were broad and various. ""Unbounded Loyalty"" sheds fresh light on the Tang-Song transition by focusing on the much-neglected tenth century and by treating the Liao as the preeminent Tang successor state. It fills several important gaps in scholarship on premodern China as well as uncovering new questions regarding the early modern period. It will be regarded as critically important to all scholars of the Tang, Liao, Five Dynasties, and Song periods and will be read widely by those working on Chinese history from the Han to the Qing.

The first of two volumes, this book examines Gandhi's contribution to an understanding of the scientific and evolutionary basis of the psychology of nonviolence, through the lens of contemporary researches on human cognition, empathy, morality and self-control. While, psychological science has focused on those participants that delivered electric shocks in Professor Stanley Milgram's famous experiments, these books begin from the premise that we have neglected to fully explore why the other participants walked away. Building on emergent research in the psychology of self control and wisdom, the authors illustrate what Gandhi's life and work offers to our understanding of these subjects who disobeyed and defied Milgram. The authors analyze Gandhi's actions and philosophy, as well as original interviews with his contemporaries, to elaborate a modern scientific psychology of nonviolence from the principles he enunciated and which were followed so successfully in his Satyagrahas. Gandhi, they argue, was a practical psychologist from whom we can derive a science of nonviolence which, as Volume 2 will illustrate, can be applied to almost every subfield of psychology, but particularly to those addressing the most urgent issues of the 21st century. This book is the result of four decades of collaborative work between the authors. It marks a unique contribution to studies of both Gandhi and the current trends in psychological research that will appeal in particular to scholars of social change, peace studies and peace psychology, and, serve as an exemplar in teaching one of modern psychology's hitherto neglected perspectives.

The origin of world civilization can be traced to the Sindhu and Sarasvati river valleys (located in present-day Pakistan) as early as 8,000 BC. Here, innovation and originality in every aspect of human endeavor, from mathematics and science to art and sports, flourished. Yet the importance of this civilization, known as the Vedic period, has been deliberately downplayed.

Thoroughly researched and including an extensive bibliography, "From Bharata to India" rectifies this mistake in the perspective of world history and seeks to offer a comprehensive reference source. Author M. K. Agarwal shows how this early culture, where ideation by enlightened philosopher Brahmin kings, brought material and spiritual wealth that was to remain unchallenged until the colonial era. This Vedic-Hindu-Buddhist legacy subsequently influenced peoples and paradigms around the globe, ushering in an era of peace and plenty thousands of years before the Europeans.

By using original sources in Sanskirt as well as regional literature, Agarwal compares corresponding situations in other civilizations within the context of their own literary traditions and records to prove that Bharata forms the basis of world civilization. This is in direct contrast to the "Greek or Arab miracle" hypothesis put forth by numerous scholars.

The first of two volumes in this series, "From Bharata to India" offers a fascinating, in-depth glimpse into ancient India's contribution to the modern world.

This book examines forced migration of two refugees groups in South Asia. The author discusses the claims of "belonging" of refugees, and asserts that in practice "belonging" can extend beyond the state-centric understanding of membership in South Asian states. She addresses two sets of interrelated questions: what factors determine whether refugees are relocated to their home countries in South Asia, and why do some repatriated groups re-integrate more successfully than others in "post-peace" South Asian states? This book answers these questions through a study of refugees from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who sought asylum in India and were later relocated to their countries of origin. Since postcolonial societies have a typical kind of state-formation, in South Asia's case this has profoundly shaped questions of belonging and membership. The debate tends to focus on citizenship, making it a benchmark to demarcate inclusion and exclusion in South Asian states. In addition to qualitative analysis, this book includes narratives of Sri Lankan and Chakma refugees in post-conflict and post-peace Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively, and critiques the impact of macro policies from the bottom up.

The 547 Buddhist jatakas, or verse parables, recount the Buddha's lives in previous incarnations. In his penultimate and most famous incarnation, he appears as the Prince Vessantara, perfecting the virtue of generosity by giving away all his possessions, his wife, and his children to the beggar Jujaka. Taking an anthropological approach to this two-thousand-year-old morality tale, Katherine A. Bowie highlights significant local variations in its interpretations and public performances across three regions of Thailand over 150 years. The Vessantara Jataka has served both monastic and royal interests, encouraging parents to give their sons to religious orders and intimating that kings are future Buddhas. But, as Bowie shows, characterizations of the beggar Jujaka in various regions and eras have also brought ribald humor and sly antiroyalist themes to the story. Historically, these subversive performances appealed to popular audiences even as they worried the conservative Bangkok court. The monarchy sporadically sought to suppress the comedic recitations. As Thailand has changed from a feudal to a capitalist society, this famous story about giving away possessions is paradoxically being employed to promote tourism and wealth.

An infantry officer's view of the fall of the Sikhs
The author of this book served with No 6 company of HM 24th Regiment-an infantry regiment of the British Army-which saw much service in the Second Sikh War and suffered greatly in the fighting particularly at Chillianwalla. So there could hardly be a more qualified writer-or one with closer connections to other participants-to take on the task of reporting the war. At the conclusion of the First Sikh War there remained a sense of business unfinished. The Sikhs were yet masters of the Punjab and the Khalsa remained one of the most formidable armies the Sub-Continent had ever seen. Most importantly the centre of Sikh power, the seemingly impregnable and daunting fortress of Mooltan remained defiant. Once again the British Empire learnt the lesson of what a formidable foe the Sikhs were as they joined battle with them at Ramnuggar, Chillianwalla, Mooltan and Googerat. Archer takes us through this campaign in compelling detail embellished by an insight only first hand experience can provide.

This unique study is the first systematic examination to be undertaken of the high priesthood in ancient Israel, from the earliest local chief priests in the pre-monarchic period down to the Hasmonaean priest-kings in the first century BCE. It discusses material from the Old Testament and Apocrypha, together with contemporary documents and coins. It challenges the view that by virtue of his office the high priest became sole political leader of the Jews in later times.

Grand in its scope, Asian Comics dispels the myth that, outside of Japan, the continent is nearly devoid of comic strips and comic books. Relying on his fifty years of Asian mass communication and comic art research, during which he traveled to Asia at least seventy-eight times and visited many studios and workplaces, John A. Lent shows that nearly every country had a golden age of cartooning and has experienced a recent rejuvenation of the art form.

As only Japanese comics output has received close and by now voluminous scrutiny, "Asian Comics" tells the story of the major comics creators outside of Japan. Lent covers the nations and regions of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Organized by regions of East, Southeast, and South Asia, Asian Comics provides 178 black & white illustrations and detailed information on comics of sixteen countries and regions--their histories, key creators, characters, contemporary status, problems, trends, and issues. One chapter harkens back to predecessors of comics in Asia, describing scrolls, paintings, books, and puppetry with humorous tinges, primarily in China, India, Indonesia, and Japan.

The first overview of Asian comic books and magazines (both mainstream and alternative), graphic novels, newspaper comic strips and gag panels, plus cartoon/humor magazines, "Asian Comics" brims with facts, fascinating anecdotes, and interview quotes from many pioneering masters, as well as younger artists.

The fourth century is often referred to as the first Christian century, and for the Jews a period of decline and persecution. But was this change really so immediate and irreversible? What was the real impact of the Christianization of the Roman Empire on the Jews, especially in their own land?

Stemberger draws on all available sources, literary and archaeological, Christian as well as pagan and Jewish, to reconstruct the history of the different religious communities of Palestine in the fourth century.

This book demonstrates how lively, creative, and resourceful the Jewish communities remained.

Well-grounded on abundant Japanese language sources which have been underused, this book uncovers the League of Nations' works in East Asia in the inter-war period. By researching the field of social and other technical issues, namely, the trade in narcotics, the trafficking of women and the work in terms of improving health provision and providing economic advice to Nationalist China, it not only examines their long-term impacts on the international relations in the region but also argues that the League's works challenged the existing imperial order of East and Southeast Asia. The book offers a key read for academics and students of international history and international relations, and others studying Japan or East Asia in the twentieth century.

Japan's so-called 'peace constitution' renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation, and bans the nation from possessing any war potential. Yet Japan also maintains a large, world-class military organization, namely the Self-Defence Forces (SDF). In this book, Tomoyuki Sasaki explores how the SDF enlisted popular support from civil society and how civil society responded to the growth of the SDF. Japan's Postwar Military and Civil Society details the interactions between the SDF and civil society over four decades, from the launch of rearmament in 1950. These interactions include recruitment, civil engineering, disaster relief, anti-SDF litigation, state financial support for communities with bases, and a fear-mongering campaign against the Soviet Union. By examining these wide-range issues, the book demonstrates how the militarization of society advanced as the SDF consolidated its ideological and socio-economic ties with civil society and its role as a defender of popular welfare. While postwar Japan is often depicted as a peaceful society, this book challenges such a view, and illuminates the prominent presence of the military in people's everyday lives.

This edited volume of translations covers the major political essays of India's first feminist Hindi poet. A devout follower and advocate of Gandhi, Mahadevi Varma is a household name in India and is a major woman of letters in the modern Hindi world. The essays collected in this volume represent some of Mahadevi Varma s most famous writings on the woman question in India. The collection also includes an introduction to her life, with biographical notes, an analysis of her importance in the field of Hindi letters, as well as a selection of her poems these latter because Mahadevi Varma made her mark in the world of Hindi literature through her poetry, and a volume of translations would be incomplete without a sampling of them. The introduction to the translated volume sketches Mahadevi Varma's life and work and her significance to both the development of modern standard Hindi as well as to the nascent women's movement underway in the 1920s in India. Little scholarly attention has been given in the academy outside of India to Varma s numerous contributions to women s education, to the development of modern standard Hindi, and to political thought during the Independence movement in late-colonial India. This volume of translations engages themes like language and nationalism, women s roles as artists, the politics of motherhood and marriage themes that continue to be relevant to women s lives in contemporary India and to movements for women s rights outside India as well. This volume of translations of Mahadevi Varma s feminist political essays is the first of its kind. While some of these essays, especially those from Mahadevi Varma s Hamari Shrinkhala Ki Kariyan collection have been translated by Neera K. Sohoni and published under the title Links in the Chain (Katha, 2003), there is no sustained treatment of Varma s political thinking in one, accessible volume. While there is ample work on Varma in Hindi, scholars of feminism (and students of Hindi who are in the nascent stages of language acquisition) have nowhere to turn for a comprehensive sampling of her work. Mahadevi Varma is also one of the most difficult writers to access even for trained scholars of Hindi language and literature. Her highly Sanskritized diction and her stylized prose sketches make her work a pleasure to read in the original but daunting to translate into English. This volume has contributions from some of the most highly regarded Hindi experts. In the editor s introduction to the volume of translations a brief biographical sketch followed by an analysis of the political climate of Northern India has been provided so that the reader unfamiliar with India of the 1920s-1940s will have the necessary historical context to place her work. The introduction to the volume also raises the issue of why she gave up writing poetry and turned solely to writing prose when she became involved with the movements for women s rights and national independence. Finally, the volume provides feminist cultural historians a rich archive of how Indian women like Mahadevi Varma were actively negotiating their lives as women, activists, artists, teachers, and married women. This work will be of use to scholars of Hindi language and literature in the US/European academy and should be of interest to cultural and feminist historians of modern India. This volume will introduce Mahadevi Varma s literary scope to an English-speaking audience, and will serve as a reference for feminist historians of the nationalist period in the Indian subcontinent.

Despite having been written over a century ago, the 3rd edition of Rubens Duval's History of Syriac Literature remains one of the best - and most readable - introductions to Syriac literature. This edition provides the first English translation of the work, translated by Olivier Holmey.

This volume presents one of the most important historical sources for medieval Islamic scholarship: The Compendium of Chronicles, written by the vizier to the Mongol Ilkhans of Iran, Rashiduddin Fazlullah. It includes a valuable survey of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples, a history of Genghis Khan's ancestors, and a detailed account of his conquests. Distinguished linguist and orientalist, Wheeler M. Thackston, provides a lucid, annotated translation that makes this key material accessible to a wide range of scholars.