The Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography
Edited by: Kerry Brown
Over 130 entries
This publication, the first of its kind since 1898, represents the work of more than one hundred internationally recognized experts from nearly a dozen countries. It has been designed to satisfy the growing thirst of students, researchers, professionals, and general readers for knowledge about China. It makes the entire span of Chinese history manageable by introducing the reader to emperors, politicians, poets, writers, artists, scientists, explorers, and philosophers who have shaped and transformed China over the course of five thousand years. In 135 entries, ranging from 1,000 to 8,000 words and written by some of the world's leading China scholars, the Dictionary takes the reader from the important (even if possibly mythological) figures of ancient China to Communist leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. The in-depth essays provide rich historical context, and create a compelling narrative that weaves abstract concepts and disparate events into a coherent story. Cross-references between the articles show the connections between times, places, movements, events, and individuals.
The work features a range of appendices, including a timeline of key events, a pronunciation guide, a bibliography, lists of rulers and other prominent people, and other supplemental materials for students of Chinese history and culture.
Bibliographic Information
- Publisher:
- Berkshire Publishing Group
- Print Publication Date:
- 2014
- Print ISBN-13:
- 9781933782669
- Published online:
- 2014
- Current Online Version:
- 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acref/9780190214371.001.0001
- eISBN:
- 9780190214371
Author
Kerry Brown,
editor in chief
Dr. Kerry Brown is professor and executive director of the China Studies Centre at King's College London. Before moving to Australia, he was head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House, an independent policy institute based in London, and led the Europe China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN) funded by the European Commission. Educated at the University of Cambridge, University of London, and University of Leeds, he worked in Japan and the Inner Mongolian region of China before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He worked in the China Section and served as First Secretary in Beijing from 2000 to 2003, and was head of the Indonesia East Timor Section from 2003 to 2005. He is a research associate of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies, an associate of the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University and at the London School of Economics and Political Science IDEAS Institute, and an affiliated researcher at the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at the University of Cambridge.
