The Civilization of China

Herbert Allen Giles (1845-1935) was a British linguist who modified a Mandarin Chinese Romanization system established by Thomas Wade earlier, resulting in the Wade-Giles Chinese transliteration system. Giles was a diplomat to China (1867-1892) who later became a Chinese professor at Cambridge. This book "The Civilization of China" is his classic detailed history of China, beginning in the Feudal Age and continues until 1911, long before the Communist Revolution.

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More Glimpses of Unfamilar Japan

Hearn offers another look into a side of Japan that no longer exists, lost in modern history. Yet his observations gave the Western world its first look at this mysterious and misunderstood culture. This second series also contains many stories that transcend time and remain an insightful and intriguing. A must read for anyone interested in Japanese history and society.

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Memoir of a Chinese Princess

In 1903, Princess Der Ling became First Lady-in-Waiting to Tzu-Hsi, the Empress Dowager, who was fascinated by the young woman's travels and experiences in places the Empress would never see. Der Ling served her Empress for two years inside the walls of Gu Gong, Peking's Forbidden City, a walled palace built in the year 1407, and which had been the seat of government for 24 Chinese emperors. Her intimate observations of court life under the Empress Dowager, aunt to China's last emperor, P'u Yi, allow a rare look into life in a time and place still shrouded in mystery, into the last years of imperial Chinese rule, and most importantly, into the character of the remarkable woman who ruled China for more than 40 years.

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Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things

This collection of 17 old stories from Japan was collected and translated by the well-known ethnographer, Lafcadio Hearn, and first published in English in 1904. The tales are old folk stories that deal with ghosts and the spirit world. Many feature the theme of spirits who take human form to disguise their true nature. They are spooky, old-fashioned stories which remain as intriguing today as when they were first written.

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Kokoro: Japanese Inner Life Hints

These stories follow Hearn's particular interests of Japanese folklore and the vanishing culture of which he found himself a part in post-Meji Japan. Each story is a slice of life focusing on Japanese character, morals and feelings. This is what the Japanese people care about, what they think is important, what is inside.

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Japanese Fairy Tales

Yei Theodora Ozaki’s classic Japanese fairy tales are showcased in this new compilation. Featured are twenty-two favorite tales that introduce the vivid world of Japanese fantasy. It is a landscape of ghouls, goblins, and ogres. Of sea serpents and sea kings. Kind and magical animals. Demons and dragons, princes and princesses. A must read for anyone interested in Japanese myths and legends.

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JAPAN: An Attempt at Interpretation

Hearn's book is incredibly insightful and thorough, offering a history of the various forms of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism and other folk-practices that shaped the national character of Japan. It also details Japanese interactions and culture, and most interesting are his speculations of Japanese culture, and where it would go in his pre-WWII era. Unfortunately, some of his worst fears were realized.

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In Ghostly Japan

Much of the collection focuses on how incense relates to ghosts in terms of the Shinto and Buddhist religion. In addition, there is a mix of true stories and Japanese lore as they relate to the world of the dead.

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Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan

Hearn offers a look into a side of Japan that no longer exists, lost in modern history. Yet his observations gave the Western world its first look at this mysterious and misunderstood culture. This first series contains many stories that transcend time and remain an insightful and intriguing. A must read for anyone interested in Japanese history and society.

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Folklore of Old Japan

Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford (1837-1916), Lord Redesdale, was in the British Foreign Service as a young man. He was assigned to the legation in Japan for several years and acquired a life-long fascination with Japanese culture. This book has been a standard source of information about Japanese folklore and customs since its original publication in 1871 and has been in print ever since.

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Diaries of Court Ladies From Old Japan

Written nearly one thousand years ago, these diaries continue to intrigue modern readers. Authored by three Ladies of the Royal Court in Japan, they show not only Imperial life, but also life in Japan before its traditional fourteenth-century image. These diaries were written centuries before the Shogun or samurai developed into the powerful military class that divided all of Japan, and plunged it into a long and bloody civil war. The events detailed are therefore very different in context to how the Western World views Old Japan. These accounts are also some of the oldest records in not only Japanese history, but in written history.

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Court Life in China

One woman ruled China for nearly half a century, The Empress Dowager. An unequaled historical figure, the Empress has often been misunderstood and misrepresented. From her participation in the Boxer movement to failing to modernize China in defense against Western Powers, she has been both praised and critisized, but rarely understood. This personal account of the Empress Dowager was written by a family doctor and close personal friend. This very intimate perspective details the womans life and influence on China, the effect of which can still be felt in the country today. A must read for anyone studying Chinese history.

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Christianity In Japan

This book attempts to interpret the characteristics of Japan at a time when it became a modern power. It focuses on many social attitudes, and the role of religion and influences of Christianity on the society. Written over a hundred years ago, the study remains key to understanding the modern Japanese mind, and unlocking further understanding of past events.

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China and the Manchus

Herbert Allen Giles (1845-1935) was a British linguist who modified a Mandarin Chinese Romanization system established by Thomas Wade earlier, resulting in the Wade-Giles Chinese transliteration system. Giles was a diplomat to China (1867-1892) who later became a Chinese professor at Cambridge. This book "China and the Manchu" is his classic detailed history of the Manchu Empire and its 300 year reign in China.

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Bushido: The Soul of Japan

Originally written during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904, this revised edition explains the Japanese soul from a unique historical perspective. Written by a Japanese professor, it contrasts the Spirit of Japanese culture at a time of its transition into the modern world. Bushido as the warrior code of the samurai. Bushido was a strict code that demanded loyalty, devotion, and honor to the death. Under Bushido, if a samurai failed to uphold his honor he could regain it by performing seppuku (ritual suicide).

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China and the Foreign Powers

The relationship between China and the world is a complex one of economic cooperation and political mistrust. This book give a detailed account of the turbulent times in Asia at the turn of the century. Plus, its historic perspective sheds light on the damaging effects caused by Japan and interfering Western Powers. It is set at a time when China is surrounded by outside forces, while being torn apart by inner ones. There remain many parallels to the condition of China then and now, and the resulting global effects. The future of China remains deeply rooted in its past, and to understand its course, we must first review its previous directions

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