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China is poised to become the world's largest economy in the next decade. But its great struggle to modernise has been one of tragedy, conflict, and challenge. From the first attempts to introduce Western ideas into the country two centuries ago, China's long march to global primacy has been above all an epic fight to renew an ancient country and culture. Leading Sinologist Kerry Brown traces this quest for renewal through the major moments of China’s modern history. Taking the reader on a journey that includes war, revolution, famine and finally regeneration, he describes concisely and authoritatively where China has come from, and where it is heading as it achieves great power status. This is a story that is no longer just about China, but concerns the rest of the world.
The UK has had one of the longest and most multifaceted relationships with China of any western industrialized nation. Stretching back over two hundred years, this relationship is laden with meaning and is representative of the ways in which a modernizing China has tried to relate to a modernized country. Britain's first sustained attempt to build ties with the Qing imperial court in the eighteenth century was focused primarily on trade. Over the next 150 years, Britain was at the forefront of some of the most infamous instances of Chinese encounters with the outside world, from the Opium Wars, the sacking of the Summer Palace, and the reparations for the Boxer rebellion of 1900 to the maint...
Sikh Art and Literature traverses the 500-year history of a religion that dawned with the modern age in a land that was a thoroughfare of invading armies, ideas and religions and arts of the East and West. Essays by art curators, historians and collectors and religion and literary scholars are illustrated with some of the earliest and finest Sikh paintings. Sikh modernism and mysticism is explored in essays on the holy Guru Granth Sahib; the translations and writings of the British Raj convert, M.A. Macauliffe; the fathers of modern Punjabi literature, Bhai Vir Singh and Puran Singh; and the 20th century fiction writers Bhai Mohan Vaid Singh and Khushwant Singh. Excerpts from journals of visitors to the court of the diminutive and new translations of early twentieth century poetry add depth and originality to this beautiful and accessible introduction to the art, literature, beliefs and history of the Sikhs. Illustrated throughout with 42 colour and 92 black and white images, Sikh Art and Literature is a colourful, heartfelt, and informative introduction to the Sikh culture.
Over the six-month period from late 2012 to early 2013, Hu Jintao, the President of the People's Republic of China, Chair of the Central Military Commission, and Party Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), will relinquish at least two of his three positions. According to the constitution of the CCP, his time as Party head will come to an end, given that he has already served for two terms. Well over the supposed retirement age of 68, he will have to hand over the leadership of China to a new generation of leaders at the 18th Party Congress in Beijing. In Chinese politics, the act of retirement is surprisingly difficult, but Hu Jintao is widely known for his reserve and reticence; t...
China has become the powerhouse of the world economy and home to 1 in 5 of the world's population, yet we know almost nothing of the people who lead it. How does one become the leader of the world's newest superpower? And who holds the real power in the Chinese system? In The New Emperors, the noted China expert Kerry Brown journeys deep into the heart of the secretive Communist Party. China's system might have its roots in peasant rebellion but it is now firmly under the control of a power-conscious Beijing elite, almost half of whose members are related directly to former senior Party leaders. Brown reveals the intrigue and scandal surrounding the internal battle raging between two China's: one founded by Mao on Communist principles, and a modern China in which 'to get rich is glorious'. At the centre of it all sits the latest Party Secretary, Xi Jinping - the son of a revolutionary, with links both to big business and to the People's Liberation Army. His rise to power is symbolic of the new emperors leading the world's next superpower.
China is now the most powerful country on earth. Its manufacturing underpins the world's economy; its military is growing at the fastest rate of any nation and its leader - Xi Jinping - is to set the pace and tone of world affairs for decades. In 2017 Xi Jinping became part of the constitution - an honour not seen since Chairman Mao. Here, China expert Kerry Brown guides us through the world according to Xi: his plans to make China the most powerful country on earth and to eradicate poverty for its citizens. In this captivating book we discover Xi's beliefs, how he thinks about communism, and how far he is willing to go to defend it.
Old World lamplighters once lit the streets of cities like Constantinople, Alexandria, and Rome. In the countryside, in the new colonies, the lamplighter doesn't light passages through the dark; he lights perimeters against it, and the wildernesses beyond. In the tiny South Island beach settlement of Porbeagle, Candle is apprentice to his grandfather, Ignis. But as the community prepares to celebrate the lamplighter's retirement, old stories take on darker hues. If the origins of folklore are in a sunken history of violence and prejudice, what is the price of Candle's freedom? Inhabiting a luminous space between realism and parable, between an all-too-familiar contemporary New Zealand and a magical otherworld, Lamplighter is as captivating as it is unsettling.
The context and environment of public services is becoming increasingly complex and the management of change and innovation is now a core task for the successful public manager. This text aims to provide its readers with the skills necessary to understand, manage and sustain change and innovation in public service organizations. Key features include: the use of figures, tables and boxes to highlight ideas and concepts of central importance a dedicated case study to serve as a focus for discussion and learning, and to marry theory with practice clear learning objectives for each chapter with suggestions for further reading. Providing future and current public managers with the understanding and skills required to manage change and innovation, this groundbreaking text is essential reading for all those studying public management, public administration and public policy.
'Kerry Brown's Xi is the perfect primer for understanding Xi Jinping's status as China's greatest ruler since Mao and as this century's least assailable statesman' John Keay, author of China: A History 'A valuable primer for anyone looking to get up to speed on Xi Jinping's rise to global power' Jeff Wasserstrom, Guardian 'Offers a nuanced and thorough explanation of Xi's China and why the Communist Party, for all its flaws, has long life in it' Oliver Farry, Irish Times Although Xi Jinping came to power a decade ago, he remains an enigmatic figure in the West. His priority has always been to keep Chinese society as stable as possible, steering a course through a period of astounding economi...
Not only will this book help you to set and achieve your goals, it will also give you the most important secret weapon of all - grit! Grit is the resilience and determination to dust yourself off and keep trying when life's inevitable setbacks come along. Over the next 12 weeks, you are going to supercharge your grit by working towards becoming whatever you want to be and improving in whatever area of life you choose. This could be school, family, relationships, health, or anything else! The activities in this book will keep you on track and help you develop an unbeatable mindset. At the end of the 12-week kick-starter, you'll have a full 12-month goal programme to ensure you are super successful. Having spent over 20 years in education, where she has helped students of all ages to reach their full potential, Kerry Brown is passionate about the importance of developing a grit mindset. She has seen the results it gets and wants to show you just what you can achieve when you put your mind to it. You'll be amazed...