First published in 1977, The Hong Kong Region is a historical reconstruction of long-settled vil­lage and township society in Hong Kong's New Territories between 1850 and 1911. The book's central argument is that the gentry and bureau­cracy played almost no role in these commu­nities, which were run by local peasants and shopkeepers who had to deal virtually unaided with routine administration and with every form of disaster, natural or man-made. A sub­stantial new introduction reviews the research and its wider implications for our understand­ing of traditional Chinese society in the light of later scholarly studies.

Takeshi Hamashita, arguably Asia's premier historian of the longue durée, has been instrumental in opening a new field of inquiry in Chinese, East Asian and world historical research. Engaging modernization, Marxist and world system approaches, his wide-ranging redefinition of the evolving relationships between the East Asia regional system and the world economy from the sixteenth century to the present has sent ripples throughout Asian and international scholarship. His research has led him to reconceptualize the position of China first in the context of an East Asian regional order and subsequently within the framework of a wider Euro-American-Asian trade and financial order that was long gestating within, and indeed contributing to the shape of, the world market. This book presents a selection of essays from Takeshi Hamashita's oeuvre on Asian trade to introduce this important historian's work to the English speaking reader. It examines the many critical issues surrounding China and East Asia's incorporation to the world economy, including: Maritime perspectives on China, Asia and the world economy Intra-Asian trade Chinese state finance and the tributary trade system Banking and finance Maritime customs.

The papers in this volume, prepared by social scientists with different specializations, address selected aspects of Hong Kong's post-War development.

"The studies collected in this volume were written by anthropologists, architects, geographers, historians, a sociologist, and a veterinary ecologist. Taken together they form an exceptionally coherent survey of Chinese villages, ranging from the dry north to the humid southeast and southwest of this vast country. Going beyond books on Chinese vernacular architecture that focus on individual dwellings, this work examines the village ensemble itself, the various settings for the habitation, work, and leisure of China's large rural population." "Discussions of design, spatial layout, physical setting, settlement patterns, geomantic principles (fengshui), and evolutionary patterns set the stage for eighteen village case studies. Many villages still preserve characteristics that evoke a respect for and understanding of "old China," while others expose the drastic metamorphosis of recent decades. Villages are examined as places, emphasizing that which is visible; each village has its own order and complex of natural and human elements. Chinese Landscapes, though it focuses on the physical appearance of individual villages as they are situated within the constellation that comprises the Chinese landscape, suggests much about more general social, economic, and political patterns."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

“For myself, however, it is the human element, the recollected words, the remembered faces, which give life to the printed record.” James Hayes’s many writings have made a major contribution to knowledge about life in rural Hong Kong. This book presents sixteen of his illuminating and original articles, each of which is rooted in his experiences as a district officer, administering and visiting villages under his care. His interest in the life and lives of the people went far beyond the formal demands of his official work, and Dr Hayes grew to admire and respect the villagers. As a result, his writings are suffused with his affection and esteem. Intended for scholars in the field of New Territories history as well as general readers interested in rural life in the region, A Pattern of Life provides a fascinating, academically important, yet highly readable picture of traditional life in rural South China and reinforces Dr Hayes’s reputation as one of the most important writers on the New Territories. “[James was] the archetypical example of those remarkable Colonial Service officers who became fascinated by, and deeply engaged with, the territories and people which it was their task to administer.” – Lord Wilson of Tillyorn Governor of Hong Kong (1987–1992)