An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China

(Hardback)

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Description

Since Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms began in the early 1980s, the People's Republic of China has rejoined global politics as a world power. The country is likely to become more open and its internal politics will no doubt affect the rest of the world. With more than 1.2 billion people divided into hundreds of ethnic groups, all dominated by the Han people, China's politics and its foreign policy are bound to be affected by ethnicity and ethnic rivalry. This book is designed to give librarians, students, scholars, and educated readers a ready reference for background information of interpreting ethnic events in China. Generally defining ethnicity in terms of language, this book provides individual essays on hundreds of Chinese ethnic groups, including ethnic groups living in the Republic of China on Taiwan. The book also includes a chronology, bibliography, and a breakdown of the People's Republic of China's ethnic political subdivisions.

Reviews

.,."An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China is a well researched and well written work. To the knowledge of this reviewer, there is no book like this anywhere else. Thus, it has considerable value for anyone doing research on China....An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China is highly recommended to research libraries and scholars on China."-American Journal of Chinese Studies
...An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China is a well researched and well written work. To the knowledge of this reviewer, there is no book like this anywhere else. Thus, it has considerable value for anyone doing research on China....An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China is highly recommended to research libraries and scholars on China.-American Journal of Chinese Studies
Given its breadth of coverage, Olson's work is unique in the English language....An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China will prove to be a valuable resource for scholars of Chinese history and languages for years to come. Recommended purchase for all research libraries and for undergraduate libraries with programs in Asian Studies.-Reference & User Services Quarterly
This book gives librarians, students, scholars, and educated readers a ready-reference for background information to understand ethnic groups in China, and to interpret events in the light of the country's strong level of ethnicity.-ARBA
To Sinologists who prefer English text, this is the only title available at present.... Recommended.-Choice
"Given its breadth of coverage, Olson's work is unique in the English language....An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China will prove to be a valuable resource for scholars of Chinese history and languages for years to come. Recommended purchase for all research libraries and for undergraduate libraries with programs in Asian Studies."-Reference & User Services Quarterly
"This book gives librarians, students, scholars, and educated readers a ready-reference for background information to understand ethnic groups in China, and to interpret events in the light of the country's strong level of ethnicity."-ARBA
"To Sinologists who prefer English text, this is the only title available at present.... Recommended."-Choice
..."An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China is a well researched and well written work. To the knowledge of this reviewer, there is no book like this anywhere else. Thus, it has considerable value for anyone doing research on China....An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China is highly recommended to research libraries and scholars on China."-American Journal of Chinese Studies

Author Bio

JAMES S. OLSON is Distinguished Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at Sam Houston State University. He is the author of more than 25 books on U.S. and world history, including his most recent Historical Dictionary of the British Empire (Greenwood, 1996) and The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary (Greenwood, 1996).