Title: The teleology of the modern nation-state : Japan and China /
Authors: Fogel, Joshua A., 1950-
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press,
Year: 2005
Subjects: Nation-state Case studies.; Group identity Japan History.; Group identity China History.; Politics and culture Japan History.; Regionalism Political aspects China History.; China History, Local.; Japan Politics and government.; China Politics and government.; China History, Local Historiography.
Abstract: "This interdisciplinary volume asks deceptively simple questions: When did "Japan" and "China" become Japan and China? When and why do inhabitants begin to define their identity and interests nationally rather than locally? Identifying the role of mitigating factors from disease and travel abroad to the subtleties of political language and aesthetic sensibility, the answers provided in these diverse essays are appropriately complex. By setting aside Western notions of the nation-state, the contributors approach each region on its own terms, while the thematic organization of the book provides a unique lens through which to view the challenges common to understanding both Japan and China. This collection will be important to scholars both inside and beyond the field of East Asian studies."--Jacket.