About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
The People’s Republic of China claims to have 22,000 kilometres of land borders and 18,000 kilometres of coast line. How did this vast country come into being? The state credo describes an ancient process of cultural expansion: border peoples gratefully accept high culture in China and become inalienable parts of the country. And yet, the “centre” had to fight against manifestations of discontent in the border regions, not only to maintain control over the regions themselves, but also to prevent a loss of power at the edges from triggering a general process of regional devolution in the Han Chinese provinces. The essays in this volume look at these issues over a long span of time, questioning whether the process of expansion was a benevolent civilizing mission.
Contributor Notes
Diana Lary is a professor of history and director of the Centre of Chinese Research at the Institute of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia. Among her many publications, she is co-editor with Stephen MacKinnon of Scars of War: The Impact of Warfare on Modern China.
Awards
- , Longlisted for the 2007 International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) Book Prize
Editorial Review
By presenting new work, much of it by younger and Canadian scholars, this volume, complete with a comprehensive bibliography, offers access to a burgeoning literature on China’s borders from the Ming to the present.
— International History Review XXX, 3
