A Military History of China

Editor's Note

EDITORS’ NOTE This book is intended to provide an accessible, one-volume introduction to Chinese military history covering both traditional and modern China. No other book currently available in English embraces as broad a range of topics and chronological periods in its examination of China’s martial heritage. Since this volume is aimed primarily at a nonspecialist audience, we have tried to hold both sinological jargon and scholarly apparatus to a minimum. All dates are converted to Western forms, and where Chinese terms appear, English translations are provided. Romanization of Chinese words and proper names generally follows the Pinyin system used in the People’s Republic of China, which is somewhat simpler and less intimidating to the uninitiated than the older Wade-Giles system with its hyphens and apostrophes. Most letters are pronounced more or less as in English, with four notable exceptions. The “q” in Pinyin is pronounced like our “ch” (as in the word “chin”). The Pinyin “x” represents a “sh” sound, and “c” is really a “ts” (as in our word “its”). Finally, the “zh” combination stands for a “j” sound (as in “jack”). For a few familiar names, we have retained older, usually nonstandard forms. Chiang Kai-shek, for example, is more immediately recognizable than the Pinyin equivalent (Jiang Jieshi), and the same is true for Canton (Guangzhou). We spell the Chinese name of the Nationalist Party in Pinyin (Guomindang), but have chosen to retain its Wade-Giles–derived acronym KMT in place of the less familiar Pinyin equivalent (GMD). Personal names follow the Chinese sequence, with last name first. We have incurred a number of debts in the process of preparing this book. Rob Williams, Carol Jones, and Steve Catalano, our editors at Westview Press, shepherded the original edition through to completion. John Beck and his associates provided expert copyediting assistance. The maps were drawn by Don Graff, with the exception of the map of the Eurasian steppelands, which was created for this book by Elaine Ng. Jim Ehrman solved a number of electronic information transfer and retrieval problems for us. To these individuals and all the others who have assisted us along the way, we offer our warmest thanks. D. G., R. H. xiii ...