Richard Pearson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824837129
- eISBN:
- 9780824870980
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824837129.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Who are the people of the Ryukyu Islands? How could they survive and prosper on small, isolated islands? How did the independent Ryukyu Kingdom become a major player in East Asian medieval trade? ...
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Who are the people of the Ryukyu Islands? How could they survive and prosper on small, isolated islands? How did the independent Ryukyu Kingdom become a major player in East Asian medieval trade? This book explores 30,000 years of human occupation in the Ryukyu Islands, from the earliest human presence in the region up to AD 1609 and the emergence of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It focuses on the unique geopolitical position of the islands, their environment, and the many human communities whose historical activities can be discerned. The book describes explorers and sojourners and colonists who arrived thousands of years ago, and their ancient trade links to Japan, Korea, and China. Through a case study focused on the medieval castles and palaces of the Ryukyu Kingdom, it demonstrates the vigorous trade taking place in East Asia before the arrival of the Europeans in the sixteenth century AD It also shows how archaeologists have sought to reconstruct monuments on Okinawa Island that were obliterated in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The book shows that many modern features of the culture, politics, and economy of the Ryukyu Islands have very deep roots. It concludes with a discussion of aspects of Ryukyu archaeology that are significant for world archaeology and the archaeology of islands.Less
Who are the people of the Ryukyu Islands? How could they survive and prosper on small, isolated islands? How did the independent Ryukyu Kingdom become a major player in East Asian medieval trade? This book explores 30,000 years of human occupation in the Ryukyu Islands, from the earliest human presence in the region up to AD 1609 and the emergence of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It focuses on the unique geopolitical position of the islands, their environment, and the many human communities whose historical activities can be discerned. The book describes explorers and sojourners and colonists who arrived thousands of years ago, and their ancient trade links to Japan, Korea, and China. Through a case study focused on the medieval castles and palaces of the Ryukyu Kingdom, it demonstrates the vigorous trade taking place in East Asia before the arrival of the Europeans in the sixteenth century AD It also shows how archaeologists have sought to reconstruct monuments on Okinawa Island that were obliterated in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The book shows that many modern features of the culture, politics, and economy of the Ryukyu Islands have very deep roots. It concludes with a discussion of aspects of Ryukyu archaeology that are significant for world archaeology and the archaeology of islands.
Amiya Kumar Bagchi and Anthony P. D'Costa (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780198082286
- eISBN:
- 9780199082377
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198082286.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
India and China—the two largest and fastest growing economies in the world—are contributing to the realignment of the global economy while most of the advanced capitalist countries are reeling under ...
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India and China—the two largest and fastest growing economies in the world—are contributing to the realignment of the global economy while most of the advanced capitalist countries are reeling under a severe financial crisis. At the same time, the transition in the two countries is characterized by deep rural poverty and underdevelopment, unprecedented forms of social and economic inequality, reliance on volatile export markets, brutal land grabs, and forms of crony capitalism. This volume brings together twelve wide-ranging essays that collectively engage in discussing key areas of transformation and development, including on agriculture, industry, global finance and outward direct foreign investments, science and technology, and R&D policies of these nations. Using an interdisciplinary and multi-level analysis, the volume provides comprehensive and critical insights into the dynamics of the development process in the two countries while exploring the realignment of east-west and north-south relations as well as regional balance.Less
India and China—the two largest and fastest growing economies in the world—are contributing to the realignment of the global economy while most of the advanced capitalist countries are reeling under a severe financial crisis. At the same time, the transition in the two countries is characterized by deep rural poverty and underdevelopment, unprecedented forms of social and economic inequality, reliance on volatile export markets, brutal land grabs, and forms of crony capitalism. This volume brings together twelve wide-ranging essays that collectively engage in discussing key areas of transformation and development, including on agriculture, industry, global finance and outward direct foreign investments, science and technology, and R&D policies of these nations. Using an interdisciplinary and multi-level analysis, the volume provides comprehensive and critical insights into the dynamics of the development process in the two countries while exploring the realignment of east-west and north-south relations as well as regional balance.
Amiya Kumar Bagchi and Anthony P. D’Costa
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780198082286
- eISBN:
- 9780199082377
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198082286.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter addresses two main questions. First, what is the trend in inequality in India and China? Second, what additional information can be obtained by decomposing aggregate trends in terms of: ...
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This chapter addresses two main questions. First, what is the trend in inequality in India and China? Second, what additional information can be obtained by decomposing aggregate trends in terms of: (a) regional variations, and (b) the urban-rural divide? To answer these questions, income and consumption inequality in China are compared with consumption inequality in India in the post-reform period over three (roughly comparable) points in time. Based primarily on economic analysis, it is shown that both countries need to develop special, comprehensive, and timely measures sensitive to their specific contexts to tackle the various dimensions of inequality—particularly the rapidly growing urban-rural divide—in order to attain their goal of increased economic prosperity without social upheaval.Less
This chapter addresses two main questions. First, what is the trend in inequality in India and China? Second, what additional information can be obtained by decomposing aggregate trends in terms of: (a) regional variations, and (b) the urban-rural divide? To answer these questions, income and consumption inequality in China are compared with consumption inequality in India in the post-reform period over three (roughly comparable) points in time. Based primarily on economic analysis, it is shown that both countries need to develop special, comprehensive, and timely measures sensitive to their specific contexts to tackle the various dimensions of inequality—particularly the rapidly growing urban-rural divide—in order to attain their goal of increased economic prosperity without social upheaval.
Richard Bowring
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198795230
- eISBN:
- 9780191836534
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198795230.003.0020
- Subject:
- History, World Early Modern History, History of Ideas
This retrospect is a short appraisal of the narrative told in this book, emphasizing the degree to which Song–Ming Neo-Confucianism acted as a constant sounding board throughout the period, a period ...
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This retrospect is a short appraisal of the narrative told in this book, emphasizing the degree to which Song–Ming Neo-Confucianism acted as a constant sounding board throughout the period, a period which in European terms stretched from Queen Elizabeth I of England to the Communist manifesto. It is this remarkable consistency that ties someone like Hayashi Razan at the beginning of the period to Aizawa Seishisai at the end and makes sense of the term ‘Tokugawa period’. Not that Neo-Confucianism ruled supreme; it remained an élite concern. On the ground, Buddhism, somewhat ironically, increased its hold over the population and Shintō grew in ways that would eventually allow it to play the major role in Japan’s modern period. The narrative has taken us from the unification of the country to the cusp of the modern, when alien, outside forces were needed to bring about change.Less
This retrospect is a short appraisal of the narrative told in this book, emphasizing the degree to which Song–Ming Neo-Confucianism acted as a constant sounding board throughout the period, a period which in European terms stretched from Queen Elizabeth I of England to the Communist manifesto. It is this remarkable consistency that ties someone like Hayashi Razan at the beginning of the period to Aizawa Seishisai at the end and makes sense of the term ‘Tokugawa period’. Not that Neo-Confucianism ruled supreme; it remained an élite concern. On the ground, Buddhism, somewhat ironically, increased its hold over the population and Shintō grew in ways that would eventually allow it to play the major role in Japan’s modern period. The narrative has taken us from the unification of the country to the cusp of the modern, when alien, outside forces were needed to bring about change.
Mamoru Akamine
Robert Huey (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780824855178
- eISBN:
- 9780824872953
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824855178.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter looks at the Gusuku period
(roughly the fifteenth century), when Ryukyu was divided into two cultural spheres – northern and southern. This period saw the rise of local fiefs, and ...
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This chapter looks at the Gusuku period
(roughly the fifteenth century), when Ryukyu was divided into two cultural spheres – northern and southern. This period saw the rise of local fiefs, and increased trade between them and others in East Asia (Japan, China, Korea, etc.). The chapter describes how Song China developed an East Asian Trade sphere that encompassed all the surrounding countries, including the various fiefdoms in the Ryukyu Islands. The Ryukyus specialized in sulphur and mother-of-pearl, both in high demand in the region. As Japan ceased trading directly with China, Ryukyu became an important go-between.Less
This chapter looks at the Gusuku period
(roughly the fifteenth century), when Ryukyu was divided into two cultural spheres – northern and southern. This period saw the rise of local fiefs, and increased trade between them and others in East Asia (Japan, China, Korea, etc.). The chapter describes how Song China developed an East Asian Trade sphere that encompassed all the surrounding countries, including the various fiefdoms in the Ryukyu Islands. The Ryukyus specialized in sulphur and mother-of-pearl, both in high demand in the region. As Japan ceased trading directly with China, Ryukyu became an important go-between.
David F. Graf
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198790662
- eISBN:
- 9780191833175
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198790662.003.0015
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the archaeological and written evidence for the so-called Silk Roads and the development of trade along them between the second century BC and the ...
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This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the archaeological and written evidence for the so-called Silk Roads and the development of trade along them between the second century BC and the end of the Han dynasty in the early second century AD. The Silk Road trade at the Chinese end originated epiphenomenally on the practice of state tribute and diplomatic embassies, as tribute in kind and diplomatic gifts were resold by their enterprising recipients. As trade developed along the routes westwards and gained its own momentum, its value was harnessed by the state in the form of heavy customs dues. Rather than a coordinated route utilized by merchants travelling the length of the terrain between China and Rome, the picture emerging is that of segmented trade involving various merchants.Less
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the archaeological and written evidence for the so-called Silk Roads and the development of trade along them between the second century BC and the end of the Han dynasty in the early second century AD. The Silk Road trade at the Chinese end originated epiphenomenally on the practice of state tribute and diplomatic embassies, as tribute in kind and diplomatic gifts were resold by their enterprising recipients. As trade developed along the routes westwards and gained its own momentum, its value was harnessed by the state in the form of heavy customs dues. Rather than a coordinated route utilized by merchants travelling the length of the terrain between China and Rome, the picture emerging is that of segmented trade involving various merchants.
Wiebke Denecke
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190654979
- eISBN:
- 9780190655013
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190654979.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Although The Tale of Genji is today the quintessentially Japanese national classic, its engagement with China shapes the tale on virtually every page. This essay argues that Murasaki Shikibu was ...
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Although The Tale of Genji is today the quintessentially Japanese national classic, its engagement with China shapes the tale on virtually every page. This essay argues that Murasaki Shikibu was keenly interested in philosophical questions of how humans experience space and that China played a pivotal role in formulating and engaging these questions. As a Heian woman she had no access to the world of Chinese-style poetry composition or the Confucian Academy, but she deploys China as a marker of spatial or temporal difference that inspires her probing of fundamental questions: How can spaces convey moods and structure human experience? How can a woman narrate inaccessible male spaces? This essay shows how philosophical questions about the experience and description of space drive the tale’s plot and character portrayal and how this “epistemology of space” is predicated on the manifold presences of China at the heart of the Genji’s brilliant narrative art and psychological depth.Less
Although The Tale of Genji is today the quintessentially Japanese national classic, its engagement with China shapes the tale on virtually every page. This essay argues that Murasaki Shikibu was keenly interested in philosophical questions of how humans experience space and that China played a pivotal role in formulating and engaging these questions. As a Heian woman she had no access to the world of Chinese-style poetry composition or the Confucian Academy, but she deploys China as a marker of spatial or temporal difference that inspires her probing of fundamental questions: How can spaces convey moods and structure human experience? How can a woman narrate inaccessible male spaces? This essay shows how philosophical questions about the experience and description of space drive the tale’s plot and character portrayal and how this “epistemology of space” is predicated on the manifold presences of China at the heart of the Genji’s brilliant narrative art and psychological depth.
Hanns W. Maull
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- November 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198828945
- eISBN:
- 9780191867422
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198828945.003.0015
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter compares the developments in the nine partial orders surveyed, looking at legitimacy and effectiveness; the incidence of violence; their principles, rules, norms, and institutions; rules ...
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This chapter compares the developments in the nine partial orders surveyed, looking at legitimacy and effectiveness; the incidence of violence; their principles, rules, norms, and institutions; rules enforcement through collective sanctions; dominant actors and interaction patterns; and their evolution over time. It then assesses the roles and performances of the USA and the People’s Republic of China as “ordering powers” and summarizes the characteristics of changes in the international order since 1990. What emerges is a paradox: the world needs more international order and global governance, but recent changes have mostly been in the opposite direction. The final section offers observations about the causes for this paradoxical decline of the post-Cold War order and reflects on the implications of what has been happening for the future of international order.Less
This chapter compares the developments in the nine partial orders surveyed, looking at legitimacy and effectiveness; the incidence of violence; their principles, rules, norms, and institutions; rules enforcement through collective sanctions; dominant actors and interaction patterns; and their evolution over time. It then assesses the roles and performances of the USA and the People’s Republic of China as “ordering powers” and summarizes the characteristics of changes in the international order since 1990. What emerges is a paradox: the world needs more international order and global governance, but recent changes have mostly been in the opposite direction. The final section offers observations about the causes for this paradoxical decline of the post-Cold War order and reflects on the implications of what has been happening for the future of international order.
Renaud Egreteau
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190620967
- eISBN:
- 9780190686468
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190620967.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
This chapter seeks to provide a realistic assessment of the other long-term challenges that continue to plague Myanmar. While many are not necessarily hindering democratization, all pose considerable ...
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This chapter seeks to provide a realistic assessment of the other long-term challenges that continue to plague Myanmar. While many are not necessarily hindering democratization, all pose considerable threats to the stability of the country and the long-term process of national reconciliation. Prominent among them is the multifaceted political and social clientelisms that are entrenched in Burmese society. Such is the case for the oligarchical structuration and weaknesses of the national economy, as well as Myanmar’s peculiar geography. This chapter looks at why the country cannot avoid considering the impact that its geopolitical situation has long imposed on its domestic developments. Myanmar’s position at the crossroads of India and China, where politics remains volatile and democratic consolidation is an endlessly moving target, may provide the military with incentives to remain involved in politics.Less
This chapter seeks to provide a realistic assessment of the other long-term challenges that continue to plague Myanmar. While many are not necessarily hindering democratization, all pose considerable threats to the stability of the country and the long-term process of national reconciliation. Prominent among them is the multifaceted political and social clientelisms that are entrenched in Burmese society. Such is the case for the oligarchical structuration and weaknesses of the national economy, as well as Myanmar’s peculiar geography. This chapter looks at why the country cannot avoid considering the impact that its geopolitical situation has long imposed on its domestic developments. Myanmar’s position at the crossroads of India and China, where politics remains volatile and democratic consolidation is an endlessly moving target, may provide the military with incentives to remain involved in politics.
