The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10, Part 1

The contributors, all specialists from the international community of Sinologists, cover the main developments in political, social, economic and intellectual life of China in their respective periods. Collectively they present the major events in a long history that encompasses both a very old civilisation and a great modern power. Written not only for students and scholars, but with the general reader in mind, the volumes are designed to be read continuously, or as works of reference. No knowledge of Chinese is necessary for readers with Chinese, proper names and terms are identified with their characters in the glossary, and full references to Chinese, Japanese, and other works are given in the bibliographies. Numerous maps illustrate the texts. The published volumes have constituted essential reading in Chinese history.
Vol.10: Late Ching 1800-1911, Part 1
This is the first of two volumes in this major Cambridge history dealing with the decline of the Ching empire. It opens with a survey of the Ching empire in China and Inner Asia at its height, in about 1800. Contributors study the complex interplay of foreign invasion, domestic rebellion and Ching decline and restoration. Special reference is made to the Peking administration, the Canton trade and the early treaty system, the Taiping, Nien and other rebellions, and the dynastys survival in uneasy cooperation with the British, Russian, French, American and other invaders. Each chapter is written by a specialist from the international community of sinological scholars. No knowledge of Chinese is necessary for readers with Chinese, proper names and terms are identified with their characters in the glossary, and full references to Chinese, Japanese and other works are given in the bibliographies. Numerous maps illustrate the text, and there are a bibliographical essays describing the source materials on which each authors account is based.