The Everlasting Empire： The Political Culture of Ancient China and Its Imperial Legacy

To most specialists and non-specialists of Chinese political culture, probably the most intriguing question is why the Chinese empire, one of the largest political entities in human history, attained against all odds its unparalleled longevity for more than two millennia from 221 BCE to 1911. Building upon his previous study of the formation of China＇s unique imperial ideology prior to the foundation of the first dynasty, （Yuri Pines, Envisioning Eternal Empire： Chinese Political Thought of the Warring States Era, Honolulu： University of Hawai＇i Press, 2009）.     

Li,Huaiyin, Reinventing Modern China： Imagination and Authenticity in Chinese Historical Writing

Li Huaiyin＇s new book deals with the dialectic and competing processes ofwriting the history of ＂modem China＂ in China during the past century. Li presents the writing of history as a literary genre that has produced multiple narratives in different periods, narratives that corresponded to or were instigated by particular socio-political （especially political） circumstances of the protagonists of his story. In general, Li depicts these narratives as ＂romantic,＂ ＂optimistic,＂ or ＂pessimistic,＂ based on two major conflicting paradigms （or ＂grand narratives＂--Li often uses ＂narrative＂ and ＂paradigm＂ interchangeably）： ＂modernization＂ and ＂revolutionary.＂     

Rosner,Erhard, Guide Signs of the Empire： Programmatic Place Names in the History of China （in German）

Successive dynasties used to emblazon their respective political agendas on the Chinese landscape by bestowing programmatic names on the towns and cities of their empire. Depending on the ruling elites＇ propagandistic aims, these messages could be allusive or blunt, bellicose or pacific, deprecating towards outsiders or culturally inclusive.     

From Academic Nitpicking to a =New Culture Movement＇： How Newspapers Turned Academic Debates into the Center of ~May Fourth＂

Abstract In early 1919, people like Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu were regarded as members of an ivory-tower ＂academic faction＂ （xuepai）, embroiled in a debate with an opposing ＂faction.＂ After the May Fourth demonstrations, they were praised as the stars of a ＂New Culture Movement.＂ However, it was not obvious how the circle around Hu Shi and Chert Duxiu was associated with the May Fourth demonstrations. This link hinged on the way in which newspapers like Shenbao reported about the academic debates and the political events of May Fourth. After compartmentalizing the debating academics into fixed xuepai, Shenbao ascribed warlord-political allegiances to them. These made the Hu-Chen circle look like government victims and their ＂factional＂ rivals like the warlords＇ allies. When the atmosphere became hostile to the government during May Fourth, Hu Shi＇s ＂faction＂ became associated with the equally victimized May Fourth demonstrators. Their ideas were regarded as （now popular） expressions of anti-government sentiment, and soon this was labeled the core of the ＂New Culture Movement.＂ The idea and rhetoric of China＇s ＂New Culture Movement＂ in this way emerged out of the fortuitous concatenation of academic debates, newspaper stories, and political events.     

Wu Jen-shu,Jibian liangmin： ehuantong Zhongguo chengshi qunzhong jiti xingdong zhi fenxi （Good Citizens Turning Rebel： Analyses of Urban Mass Collective Actions in Traditional China）

Scholars have long been interested in rebellions and revolution in Chinese history The interest has a real-world basis： China＇s long and turbulent past is a rich minefor academic study, and the country＇s seemingly endless conflicts and struggles in recent centuries give such study relevance to reality. For obvious reasons, most studies of Chinese rebellions and revolutions focus on rural society. Wu Jen-shu＇s Jibian liangmin is among relatively few works that devote attention to public, and often violent, expressions of displeasure in Chinese cities and towns before modern times.