Here, I have some books' Chinese version(chm):

The Cambridge History of China - the Ch’in and Han Empires
The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia

But I want to read the English versions to compare the translation. Could some one tell me how can I obtain
the ebook version(such as pdf or chm), or who have the english version and
would like to exchange my Chinese book?(other books would OK too)

In China mainland, the history books and materials in English are very difficult to obtain.

1 No original english version in local bookstore.
2 The price and transport fee of overseas purchase(like Amazon) are two high for us.
3 We are out of their (like Amazon) payment countries and delivery zone.
3 You know, even Wikipedia is banned here!

The only English history book I have is a used book as a gift from the Asia Foundation 15 years ago
when I am still a student in Peking University.

You might be able to get those books in Library..

OR if you can, you can come to Singapore. Many bookstores here do sell those english books.

Dear kingswonder,

I feel that if you really want to read China history, you should read the chinese version instead of the english ones. The chinese ones are more detailed and well-written, while the English ones are just translations. There are some things in Chinese that cannot be translated into English properly. Let me give you an example. For instance, let's talk about the chinese poem that Xiang Yu composed for Yu Ji before she committed suicide:

力拔山兮、气盖世，

时不利兮骓不逝，
　
骓不逝兮可奈何，

虞兮虞兮奈若何。


The English version is as follows (from wikipedia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiang_Yu:

“My strength could pull mountains, my spirit pales the world.
Yet, so unlucky am I that my horse just refuses to gallop!
What can I do if my horse denies me even a trot?
Oh my dear Yu Ji, what would you have me do?”

Personally, I feel that the chinese version is more.....original.

Of course, this is what I think. If your thoughts differ from me, please don't be angry.

Liu Bang

Thanks, LiuBang,

I am a Chinese, so I'm very familiar with China History in Chinese language.
I need English Books because I want to learn how to express in English.

1) I want to summarize a glossary from professional English books.
I have asked several times for a translating standard for proper names
but without a satisfying answer.
I found the transaltions are very confused and diverse in many English books
and webs including CHF.
I need a unique glossary for myself at least.

2) I want to learn how to express in English way, not a English Chinese.
I can write in English by looking for a Chinese-English dictionary.
but the dictionary always give an incorrect word. So I want to learn the
native expression in English.

And General_Zhao Yun,

Do you think there would be free foreign books in library here in a country with rigid censorship
that even Wikipedia is banned?
There're many ancient books and foreign books in the library of Peking University, the biggest
university library in China, but the books I need are always locked, forbidden to read and
refused to borrow without a reason( political reason in fact).
There's also a library in my town here, but it's a hollow bulding without books.
It's a fake work by local bureaucrats.

Dear kingswonder,

I see what you mean. You are welcome.

Oh great! You are very familiar with the Chinese language! We welcome you here then!

Good luck on learning how to express in English then!

Liu Bang

Translation of poetry in particular is pretty much impossible, even if not done literally. Then there's cultural differences between the use of different words, so I agree that many things are hard to translate between Chinese and English. On the other hand, historical facts and stories are just as clearly told if translated by someone who knows both languages (and cultures) fairly well.

I wouldn't mind getting some info about good quality Chinese history books in English. I struggle when reading Chinese, and when it comes to names/places/historical jargon, I'll be lost even further. Any suggestions for authors or titles? I'm interested in ancient China rather than modernish.

I'll just keep on browsing around here in the meantime...

kingswonder, I know what you mean. I was in China for a few times and checked out the English books in your bookstores in both Shanghai and Beijing areas with dismay. I tried to find some English books for my grandniece in Hangzhou area to improve her English level. Anyway, I did bring into China my own English books for her. I am not sure she would appreciate that like you do. It's too bad that I am not going to China anytime soon. Otherwise, I could bring some of those books for you.