22 replies to this topic

[wuTao]

The Birth of Vietnam
Kieth Weller Taylor
(University of California Press, 1983)
On Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.co...=glance&s=books



Description: A very good book. It can be read in many ways: first and foremost, it's a book of the forging of the Vietnamese identity and their struggles for independence from China from the third century B.C. to the tenth century A.D. A good account of the founding myths of Vietnam and their effect of the Vietnamese national identity is given. Also, the effect of various early independence leaders on the development of Vietnamese independence movements is given. It can also be read as an account of the Chinese conquest and provinicial life and politics in a remote border region of Chinese civilization. There's also some information of the various kingdoms of South East Asia and Southern China before and after the Chinese invasions.

[Gubook Janggoon]

Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea
Written by Illyon...Translated by Hat Tae-hung & Grafton K. Mintz
(Yonsei University Press, 1997)
Available at Amazon and this site "http://hanbooks.com/...legandhis.html"




Description: Written in the 1200's by Buddhist Monk Illyon, the book chronicles Korean myths, legends, and history from the time of Gojoseon to the later 3 kingdoms period. One of the major Korean texts along with Samguk Sagi.


A New History of Korea
Ki-baik Lee
(Harvard University Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 1988))
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co...=glance&s=books




Description: A good textbook on Korean history from prehistory to the end of the Korean war and the creation of North Korea and South Korea. Can get really into detail and a bit tedious at times though...


Samurai Invasion: Japan's Korean War 1592 -1598
Stephen Turnbull
Cassell (April 1, 2002)
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co...=glance&s=books



Description: Good intro to the Imjin Waeran. Serves as a good introduction but has problems like Turnbull's tendency to not utilize Chinese sources...

[caocao74]

Description:  Good intro to the Imjin Waeran.  Serves as a good introduction but has problems like Turnbull's tendency to not utilize Chinese sources...

While since I read this one, but if it is anything like 'Samurai-A Military History' it is riddled with inaccuracies and wild generalizations.

[Gubook Janggoon]

While since I read this one, but if it is anything like 'Samurai-A Military History' it is riddled with inaccuracies and wild generalizations.

So I've heard...well I still think that it's still a good general intro....and if you don't read it for the text..read it for the nice pictures in it..

[Wú Fēi]

How can I get to read these books? Is there any discount of them? Since it's rather expensive in US dollars to RMB. I hope I can see some books published in Centerian language for Americans as well as westerners..

[caocao74]

My own particular interest is pre-Tokugawa history, and thiese I'd recommend (in either English or Japanese).

GENERAL/MISCELLANEOUS
-Allison, George, and Smith, Bardwell L. (eds.), Warlords, Artists, and Commoners: Japan in the 16th Century (University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu), 1981.
-Hane Mikiso, Japan, A Historical Survey (Charles Scribner and Sons, New York), 1972.
-Hane Mikiso, Modern Japan, A Historical Survey (Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado), 1992.
-Kirby, John B., From Castle to Teahouse: Japanese Architecture of the Momoyama Period (Tuttle, Tokyo), 1962.
-Kyoto-Shi (ed.), Kyoto no Rekishi (ten volumes) (Gakugai Shorin, Tokyo), 1968-1976.
-Kyoto-Shi (ed.), Shiryo Kyoto no Rekishi (sixteen volumes) (Hibonsha, Tokyo), 1979-1988.
-Lu, David J., Sources of Japanese History (McGraw-Hill, New York), 1974.
-Reischauer, Edwin O., and Gen Itasaka (eds), Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan (Kodansha International, Tokyo), 1991.
-Sansom, George, A History of Japan; Volume 1, To 1333 (Tuttle, Tokyo), 1963
-Sansom, George, A History of Japan; Volume 2, 1333-1615 (Tuttle, Tokyo), 1963.
-Souryi, Pierre Francois (trans. Kathe Roth), The World Turned Upside Down; Medieval Japanese Society (Pimlico, London), 2002.
-Tsunoda Ryusaku, De Bary, William Theodore, & Keene, Donald, Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume 1 (Columbia University Press, New York), 1958.


GOVERNMENT
-Duus, Peter, Feudalism in Japan (3rd Ed.) (New York), 1993.
-Hall, John W., Government and Local Power in Japan 500-1700 (Princeton University Press), 1966.
-Hall, John W. and Jansen, Marius (ed.), Studies in the Institutional History of Early Modern Japan (Princeton University Press), 1968.
-Hall, John W. and Toyoda Takeshi (eds.), Japan in the Muromachi Age (University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles), 1977.
-Hall, John W., Nagahara Keiji, and Yamamura Kozo, Japan Before the Tokugawa: Political Consolidation and Economic Growth, 1500-1650 (Princeton University Press), 1981.
-Mass, Jeffrey P., Warrior Government in Early Medieval Japan: A Study of the Kamakura Bakufu: Shugo and Jito (Yale University Press, New Haven), 1974.
-Mass, Jeffrey P., Lordship and Inheritance in Early Modern Japan: A Study of the Kamakura Soryo System (Stanford University Press, Stanford, California), 1989.
- Mass, Jeffrey P. (ed.), The Origins of Japan’s Medieval World; Courtiers, Clerics, Warriors, and Peasants in the Fourteenth Century (Stanford University Press, Stanford), 1997.
-Morillo, Stephen, Guns and Government; A Comparative Study of Europe and Japan, in Journal of World History Volume 6 no.1 1995 (University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu), 1995.
-Nagahara Keiji, Sengoku no doran (The Disturbances of the Sengoku Period), Volume 14 of Nihon no Rekishi (Shogakkan, Tokyo), 1975.
-Nagahara Keiji, Gekokujo no jidai (The Era of the Lower Commanding the Upper), in Nihon no Rekishi, Volume 10 (Shogakkan, Tokyo), 1998.
-Sasaki Ginya, Muromachi bakufu, in Nihon no rekishi, Volume 13 (Shogakan, Tokyo), 1974.

WARFARE/SAMURAI/DAIMYO
-Arnessen, Peter Judd, The Medieval Japanese Daimyo: The Ouchi Family’s Rule of Suo and Nagato (Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut), 1979.
-Berry, Mary Elizabeth, Hideyoshi (Harvard University Press, London), 1989.
-Berry, Mary Elizabeth, The Culture of Civil War in Kyoto (University of California Press, Berkeley), 1994.
-Bessatsu Rekishi Tokuhon #85, Sengoku no Kassen (Shin Jinbutsu Orai, Tokyo), 1998.
-Bryant, Anthony, The Samurai (Elite 23) (Osprey Publishing, Oxford), 1989.
-Bryant, Anthony, Samurai 1550-1600 (Warrior 7) (Osprey Publishing, Oxford), 1994.
- Bryant, Anthony, Sekigahara 1600; The Final Struggle for Power (Campaign Series 40), (Osprey Publishing, Oxford), 2000.
-Conlan, Thomas, The Culture of Farce; 14th Century Japanese Warfare (Occasional Papers in Japanese History) (Edwin O Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University), 2001.
-Friday, Karl F., Samurai, Warfare, and he State in Early Medieval Japan (Routledge, London), 2004.
-Imatani Akira, Sengoku Miyoshi ichizoku (Jinbutsu Orai-sha, Tokyo), 1985.
-Imatani Akira, Onin no ran (Asahi hyakka Nihon no rekishi, 18, Tokyo), 1986.
-Lamers, Jeroen Pieter, Japonicus Tyrannus; The Japanese Warlord Oda Nobunaga Reconsidered (Hotei Publishing, Leiden), 2000.
-Lewis, Archibald, Knight and Samurai; Feudalism in Northern France and Japan (London), 1974.
-Nagashima Fukutaro, Onin no ran (Shibundo, Tokyo), 1968.
-Nakamura Kichijo, Do-Ikki Kenkyu (Research on the Do-Ikki), (Azukera shobo, Tokyo), 1974.
-Perrin, Noel, Giving Up The Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword. 1543-1879 (David R. Godina, Boston), 1979.
-Rekisho Gunzo Shirizu #41, Oda Nobunaga (Gakken, Tokyo), 1996.
-Rekishi Gunzo Shirizu #50, Sengoku no Kassen Taizen (Part 1) (Gakken, Tokyo), 1997.
-Rekishi Gunzo Shirizu #51, Sengoku no Kassen Taizen (Part 2) (Gakken, Tokyo), 1997.
-Steenstrup, Carl, Hojo Soun’s Twenty-One Articles; The Code of Conduct of the Odawara Hojo, in Monumenta Nipponica Vol.29:3, p.283-304 (Sophia University, Tokyo), 1974.
-Usui Shizuteru, Reflections on the Life and Times of Motonari Mori; Examining the Causes of Death and the Medical History of his Family and of the Period (Gariver Products, Hiroshima), 1997.
-Varley, Paul H., The Onin War: History of Its Origins and Background. With a Selective Translation of the Chronicle of Onin, (Columbia University Press, New York), 1962.

SOCIETY/ECONOMICS
-Dunn, Charles J., Everyday Life in Traditional Japan (Tuttle, Tokyo), 1969.
-Hatakeyama Ryo, On the Feudal Lord in the Late Medieval Village Community, in Hiseichi Kenkyuu (Legal History Review),Vol.51 (University of Tokyo, Tokyo), 2001).
-Hunter, Robert Jeffrey, The Fuju Fuse Controversy in Nichiren Buddhism: the Debate between Busshoin and Nichio and Jakushoin Nichiren (PhD Dissertation)(University of Wisconsin, Madison), 1989.
-Inagaki Yasuhiro & Toda Yoshimi (eds.), Do-Ikki to nairan (Revolts and Civil Wars), in Nihon Minshu no rekishi (History of the Japanese Working Classes), Volume 2 (Sanseido, Tokyo), 1974.
-Miura Keiichi, Chusei minshu seikatsushino kenkyu (Research of the History of the Daily Life of the Working Class in the Middle Ages)(Shibankaku shuppon, Tokyo), 1981.
-Tonomura, Hitomi, Community and Commerce in Late Medieval Japan: The Corporate Village of Tokuchin-ho (Stanford University Press, Stanford), 1992.

RELIGION
-Adolphson, Mikael S., The Gates of Power; Monks, Courtiers, and Warriors in Pre-Modern Japan (University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu), 2000.
-Amstutz, Galen, Interpreting Amida: History and Orientalism in the Study of Pure Land Buddhism (State University of New York, Albany, New York), 1997.
-Fuju Manabu, Hokkeshu no seiretsu ni tsuite (Bukkyo Shigaku, Tokyo), 1960.
-Imatani Akira, Tenbun Hokke no ran – Buso saru Machishu (Heibonsha, Tokyo), 1989.
-Kasahara Kazuo, Ran’yo no ningenzo: Shinran to Rennyo (Figures of Troubled Times Shinran and Rennyo) (NHK Shimin daigaku, Tokyo), 1984.
-Kitagawa, Joseph M., Religion in Japanese History (Columbia University Press, New York), 1966.
-Kuroda Toshio, Nihon Chusei no Kokka to Shukkyo (The State and Religion in Medieval Japan) (Iwanami shoten, Tokyo), 1975.
-Kuroda Toshio (trans. Suzanne Gay), Buddhism and Society in the Medieval Estate System, in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 23/3-4 (Nanzan Institute of Japanese Studies, Nagoya), 1996.
-McMullin, Neil, Buddhism in Sixteenth Century Japan (Princeton University Press, Princeton), 1984.
-Miyazaki Eishu, Fuju Fuse ha no genryu to tenkai (Heirakuji shoten, Kyoto), 1969.
-Rogers, Minor Lee & Ann, Rennyo; the 2nd Founder of Shin Buddhism (University of California, Berkeley), 1991.
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (Nanzan Institute of Japanese Studies, Nagoya), 1999.
-Sonoda Minoru, The Religious Situation in Japan in Relation to Shinto, in Acta Asiatica, 51 (Maruzen, Tokyo), 1987.
-Stone, Jacqueline, Rebuking the Enemies of the Lotus: Nichiren Exclusivism in Historical Perspective, in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nagoya), 1994, pp. 232-259.
-Watanabe Shoko, Japanese Buddhism; A Critical Appraisal (Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, Tokyo), 1968.

[Gubook Janggoon]

Sources of Korean Tradition Volumes 1 and 2



by Peter H. Lee, Yôngho Ch'oe, Hugh H. W. Kang
(Columbia University Press December 15, 1996)



by Yôngho Ch'oe (Editor), Peter H. Lee (Editor), Wm. Theodore de Bary (Editor), Ch', Yôngho oe
(Columbia University Press December 15, 2000)

Description: These are two good sources for Korean history from the its beginnings to the modern period. It mostly provides the actual historical texts and does very little analyzing, which it leaves to the reader.


Nanjung Ilgi: War Diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin
Yi Sun-sin
(Yonsei University Press 1977)


Description: The war diary of Admiral Yi Sunshin which he wrote during the Imjin Waeran. It serves as a good historical reference but it seems that the good admiral was more of a fighter than a writer.

[caocao74]

Just some books read lately.

On Japan;
-Business and Politics in Japan, James Babb, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2001
-Kamikaza-Japan's Suicide Samurai, Raymond Lamont-Brown, Cassell, London, 1997
-The Clash-US-Japanese Relations Throughout History, Walter La Feber, Norton, London, 1997
-The Yamato Dynasty-The Secret History of Japan's Imperial History, Sterling and Peggy Seagrave, Broadway Books, NY, 1997
-Embracing Defeat-Japan in the Wake of World War II, John W. Dower, Norton, London, 1999

On Korea;
-Kim Dae-Jung Government and Sunshine Policy-Promises and Challenges, Chung-In Moon and David Steinberg, Yonsei Univ. Press, Seoul, 1999

[wuTao]

The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages
Christopher I. Beckwith
(Princeton University Press, 1993)
On Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.co...=books&v=glance



Description: A very interesting book on the struggle for mastery of Central Asia from about the seventh century to the middle of the ninth century. It mostly gives a chronolgy of the political and military events, and though the title would suggest that it's told from the perspective of the Tibetans, it's really about Central Asia and the colonial conquests of whoever is the dominant power at the moment (whether Chinese, Turks, Arabs or Tibetans). That's actually one of my major complaints of this book: for most of the book, Beckwith does not discuss Tibet or what's happening in Tibet. One comes away without much knowledge of Tibet's history during this period at all. In addition, the book is written assuming that the readers know people, events, and places across Eurasia, which can confuse a novice to the history of Central Asia (such as myself). And the maps provided (only two) are very poorly done (one of them is barely visible because it includes topographic information with very small type; the other provides nothing but the general locations of empires), providing very little help in locating cities and geographic features. Still, it provides a decent history of Central Asia despite these flaws.

[WangKon936]

The Genesis of East Asia: 221 B.C.-A.D.907 (Asian Interactions and Comparisons) (Paperback)
by Charles Holcombe



Great introductory book on the formation of the early states of East Asia (Japan, Korean and Vietnam) and China's influence on all these states as they developed. Also discusses the influence of barbarian tribes on China and the evolving, primordial soup that was early east asia. Often used in undergraduate ancient east asian history college classes and a main source of reading.

HISTORY OF KOREA by Henthorn

There are not many books on Korean History out there. Most books are English translations of Korean texts. Although, well done, they give a standard, often "canned" interpretation of history and seem to draw from the same original sources, with no changes in interpretation, thus one Korean History book doesn't sound all that different from another. This book was not written by a Korean and translated by some Harvard professor, it was written from scratch by a non-Korean (actually a non-Asian) University of Hawaii professor and it reads and sounds very different from all the other books out there. Henthron discusses and introduces things no one else does and is not constrained by national pride and ethnocenticism. There is nothing wrong with Korean History written by Koreans, but when history is written by an outsider, you get a diverse and refreshing viewpoint. One of the most useful aspects of this book is that it gives a histography chart so a reader can make sense of all the little tribes and kingdoms in early Korean History and how they fit into the overall makeup of the Korean people today.

Edited by WangKon936, 31 March 2006 - 12:49 AM.

[caocao74]

Barr, Pat, The Coming of the Barbarians-A Story of Western Settlement in Japan 1853-1870 (Penguin, London), 1967.

Nish, Ian, The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War (Longman, London), 1985.

Stueck, Robert, Rethinking the Korean War-A Strategic, Political & Diplomatic History (Princeton University Press, London), 1992.

Skilton, Andrew, A Concise History of Buddhism (Windhorse Publications, Birmingham), 1994

[caocao74]

After reading the work by Skilton (listed above) I’ve fancied picking up a book on Asoka/Ashoka. Can anyone make a decent recommendation (in English please)?

[lilkermitfrog]

http://www.amazon.co...9052050?ie=UTF8


The Archaeology of Korea (Cambridge World Archaeology) (Paperback)
by Sarah Milledge Nelson, Norman Yoffee (Series Editor), Susan Alcock (Series Editor), Tom Dillehay (Series Editor), Stephen Shennan (Series Editor), Carla Sinopoli (Series Editor) "Korean archaeology is important not only for understanding the unique sequences of prehistoric events in East Asia



This is not a easy read because it goes into a lot archaeology artificats, but a great book to understand what archaeologist do and how things are interpretated. It's a little old, but a great foundation to know alot of the archaeolgical foundation and the perception of Korean history. It also provides a bibliography to other archaeologists and historians which provides you with more articles and books that you can read.
I haven't finished the book, but the information is so overwhelming that I'm surprised how one cannot get confused. This book isn't presented like a history book, but it is a history book with pictures of artificats, ancient texts, and works of historians to display the author's thesis. It's a great read.

[Edgar Liao]

On Vietnamese historiography, I would like to recommend these few books, the most important being [/b] by Patricia Pelley (Durham: Duke University Press 2002) , which studies how postcolonial Vietnamese history and history-writing have been characterized by themes and tropes of the "tradition of resistance to foreign aggression" and Vietnamese unity.

More in-depth probes could also be found in :

Essays into Vietnamese Pasts[b]. Edited by K.W. Taylor and John K. Whitmore. Ithaca, N.Y.: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University 1995

The country of memory : remaking the past in late socialist Vietnam[b] Edited by Hue-Tam Ho Tai; foreword by John Bodnar. Berkeley: University of California Press 2001

[Boleslaw I]

So far, nearly all Vietnamese histographies are unknown to the world.
However, tracing back to the time of French colonies, if you can read French, please find these, they might be available to your library. But it is rare to have, I have had to go through Warsaw Library to find it, by chances of course:

H.Maspero: Le Royale De Van Lang, 1918

Warnings: Treating such a controversial material requires some background information. I DO NOT recommend this to any of you who start scrutinising Dai Viet History. Maspero did not use Vietnamese Histography very much to treat the subject matter, which is obviously his flaw. Yet, this is one of the excellent sources about Chinese record on early Van Lang Kingdom. It also serves well to counter-attack those "PHD" in Northern Vietnam and their baseless and shameless pride upon Vietnamese History.