China's Unequal Treaties ─ Narrating National History

Drawing on a study of primary sources, Wang (Asian and world history, Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts) offers an account of the linguistic development and the polemical uses of the expression Unequal Treaties, and how the phrase became the focus of a sustained effort to establish party authority and legitimacy, as well as to attain and preserve Chinese national independence, unity, and identity in a variety of contexts. The "discourse of the Unequal Treaties" is examined as a distinctive form of diplomatic, legal, political, and cultural nationalism yielding multiple regional and global meanings. The text also explores the various interpretations of the period of Chinese history from 1840 to 1943, offered by competing forces within China. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dong Wang is chair professor of contemporary Chinese history and director of the Centre for East Asian Studies at the University of Turku in Finland.