The Human Tradition in Modern China

Building on the foundation laid by the preceding volume on premodern China, the contributors of these ten articles trace the complex historical process that was China's transition to modernity, including the rise of consumer culture, the collapse of the imperial system and the centralization of government along with related social, economic and political changes. Their subjects include early modern scientist, an adventurer courtesan in late imperial China, a pioneer in vision and photography in the nineteenth century, a reformer in colonial Hong Kong, a Manchu princess and author who was also a cultural adviser, a factory owner and populist, Beijing University students in the May Fourth era, a reluctant mendicant, a rebellious woman and survivor, and a peasant woman who became a domestic worker in Beijing. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Kenneth J. Hammond is associate professor of history at New Mexico State University. Kristin Stapleton is associate professor of history and director of the Asian Studies Program at the University of Buffalo.