978-1-898823-42-1  Hardback  2-vol. set  736pp  £195.00.
E-book 978-1-898823-43-8
Renaissance Books Asia Pacific Series, Vol. 2

The History of Manchuria, 1840-1948 is the first fully researched and documented history of its kind, representing a significant benchmark in scholarly studies of the region. In this his long-awaited final major work, Ian Nish provides valuable new perspectives on the turbulent times suffered by the three north-eastern provinces of China, generally called ‘Manchuria’, in the course of the last two centuries.

The territory rarely enjoyed peace, although its economy progressed as a result of the building of arterial railways. Two major wars – both resulting in appalling casualties - were fought on its soil in 1894 and 1904; in addition, a major international incident took place in 1919 involving the forces of many Powers. Manchuria also had an important role in world affairs from 1932, when the state of Manchukuo, based at Changchun, was declared by the Japanese Government. But that was to be short-lived, being brought to an end by the punitive incursion and occupation of the country by Soviet forces in August 1945. Thereafter, the devastated country was fought over in a brutal civil war by Chinese Nationalist and Communist armies until Mukden (Shenyang) fell to the Communists in October 1948.

Volume 1- Historical Narrative - comprises ten chapters, supported by a 12-page colour plate section of rarely seen images, plus bibliography.

Volume 2: Primary Sources. Importantly, this work is supported and enhanced by extracts from a wide selection of contemporary documents from the archives of the parties concerned, including the full report of the Lytton Commission (1932).