A Short History of China and Southeast Asia: Tribute, Trade and Influence

(Paperback)

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China, the world's most populous nation, has always exerted great influence on the traditional kingdoms and modern states of Southeast Asia. Today, history and culture continue to shape the modern relationship. In this concise volume, Martin Stuart-Fox charts the history of relations between China and Southeast Asia across two millennia, examining patterns of diplomacy, commercial networks and migration, and explaining how these have varied over time. He shows how China's traditional world view was disrupted by the modern order of sovereign nation states, how the country struggled to adapt through its "century of humiliation" from the opium wars to the proclamation of the People's Republic in 1949 and how, since then, China has sought to restore its standing in the world.

Reviews

"I cannot welcome this series warmly enough. It is sure to be a winner--and much needed." --Bill Bryson, author, In a Sunburned Country and A Walk in the Woods

Author Bio

Professor Martin Stuart-Fox is Professor of History at the University of Queensland and an expert in Southeast Asian history and politics. As a journalist in Asia he covered, among other things, the Vietnam War. In his 25 years teaching on Asia he has contributed to numerous articles and chapters and has authored several books, including The Murderous Revolution: Life and Death in Pol Pot's Kampuchea, Laos: Politics, Economics and Society and A History of Laos. He is currently working on an evolutionary theory of history.

Series Editor Milton Osborne has had an association with the Asian region for over 40 years as an academic, public servant and independent writer. He is the author of eight books on Asian topics, including Southeast Asia: An introductory history, first published in 1979 and now in its eighth edition, and, most recently, The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future, published in 2000.