1st Edition

Peasants without the Party Grassroots Movements in Twentieth Century China

By Lucien Bianco Copyright 2001
    340 Pages
    by Routledge

    340 Pages
    by Routledge

    Exploring one of the most dynamic and contested regions of the world, this series includes works on political, economic, cultural, and social changes in modern and contemporary Asia and the Pacific.

    The leading specialist on China's twentieth century peasant resistance reexamines, in bold and original ways, the question: Was the Chinese peasantry a revolutionary force? Where most scholarly attention has focused on Communist-led peasant movements, Bianco's story is one of peasant thought and action largely unmediated by modern political parties. This volume pays particular attention to the first half of the twentieth century when peasant-based conflict, ranging from tax and food protests to secret society conflicts, opium struggles, inter-communal conflicts, and tenant protests over rent, was central to nationwide revolutionary processes.

    Now updated and expanded for the electronic age, this best-selling "how-to" manual introduces students, teachers, and anyone interested in history to the theory, craft, and methods of the discipline and provides a series of "tools" to help them read, research, and understand the past. The first part of the book is a stimulating introduction to the key elements of history - evidence, narrative, judgment - that explores how the study and concepts of history have evolved over the centuries. The second part guides readers through the "workshop" of history. Unlocking the historian's "toolbox," it reveals the tricks of the trade including documents, sources, footnotes, bibliographies, chronologies, and more. This section also covers issues of interpretation, speculation, professional ethics, and controversial issues such as plagiarism, historical hoaxes, and conspiracy theories. New for this expanded edition, part three of the book includes chapters on everyday history, oral history, material culture, public history, event analysis, and history on the Internet that will resonate with a new generation of readers. Written in an engaging and entertaining style, and filled with interesting examples, "The Historian's Toolbox" opens up an exciting world of historical research for anyone interested in the past.

    Biography

    Lucien Bianco