乘風破浪來到中國的英國商人如何參與十九世紀帝國衝突的零和遊戲作者使用未曾與世人見面的太古集團檔案,為這間公司撰寫它度過動蕩不安中國近代史兩百年的迷人故事。民族崛起,帝國衰落,而太古集團這艘船航行穿越風暴。這是英國史和中國史一流史家的上乘之作。──史蒂芬.普拉特(Stephen R. Platt),美國阿姆赫斯特麻塞諸塞大學歷史系教授,著有《帝國暮色》(Imperial Twilight)畢可思把英國在中國的歷史寫得無可匹敵。在《綁定中國》,他講述一段橫跨兩百年動蕩歷史的非凡故事,關於一個來自利物浦的家族企業如何把自己變成亞洲的一部分。這是家庭的故事,帝國的故事,也是關係網的故事。──香港大學歷史系教授高馬可(John M. Carroll),著有《帝國夾縫中的香港》(Edge of Empires Chinese Elites and British Colonials in Hong Kong)這是亞洲其中一間重要英國公司的故事。但這個故事的意義遠不止於此——它包羅萬象的內容包含關於帝國如何形成,在鼎盛時期運作,然後被迫重塑自身。畢可思使用各式素材,其中許多是學者們從未見過的史料,他講述太古在亞洲創造新的貿易路線和商業關係,還有亞洲接著也被帝國商業塑造,然後面對戰爭和一九四九年中國共產主義革命的影響。這是一部強而有力又重要的歷史,將在英國與亞洲關係走上全新且不可預測的變化之際留下印記,其敘事風格和活力就連最鋌而走險的大班都會滿意。──芮納.米德(Rana Mitter),著有《中國的抗日戰爭,1937-1945》(China’s War with Japan, 1937-1945: The Struggle for Survival) 一個西方家族商行——也是擁有諸多商行的家族——如何在亞洲生存並蓬勃發展兩個多世紀?一間開路先鋒般的私人企業如何巡航穿越現代中國的戰爭、革命和改革開放?畢可斯把這個太古集團的故事講得精彩絕倫。這本書有很多身分:這是一本讀起來像小說的權威商業史。這是一部帝國衝突與競爭的大戲。這是關於商業創造我們今天生活的現代世界及其機構的故事。從商業的角度來看,這是一段中國和香港的迷人歷史。這本書適合研究現代中國及其外交關係的讀者,以及今天在中國做生意的人。這段歷史有很多教訓值得今人汲取。──柯偉林(William C. Kirby),哈佛大
The crisis of masculinity surfaced and converged with the crisis of the nation in the late Qing, after the doors of China were forced open by Opium Wars. The power of physical aggression increasingly overshadowed literary attainments and became a new imperative of male honor in the late Qing and early Republican China. Afflicted with anxiety and indignation about their increasingly effeminate image as perceived by Western colonial powers, Chinese intellectuals strategically distanced themselves from the old literati and reassessed their positions vis-à-vis violence. In Mastery of Words and Swords: Negotiating Intellectual Masculinities in Modern China, 1890s–1930s, Jun Lei explores the formation and evolution of modern Chinese intellectual masculinities as constituted in racial, gender, and class discourses mediated by the West andJapan. This book brings to light a new area of interest in the “Man Question” within gender studies in which women have typically been the focus. To fully r
Asian Celebrity Cultures in the Digital Age represents the first comprehensive study on the transformations of celebrity cultures in increasingly globalised and digitalised Asian societies. It discusses relations between Asian celebrities and digital media across emerging phenomena in celebrity practices, cultures, politics, fandom, and economies. Highlighting original case studies from prominent Asian societies, including India, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, andJapan, this book sheds much-needed light on the de-Westernisation and internationalisation of celebrity studies and is essential reading for scholars and students in celebrity, fandom, digital media and communication, and cultural studies.