TOC: Bulletin of Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica

H-ASIA
October 2, 2006

TOC _Bulletin of Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica_
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From: hllien@GATE.SINICA.EDU.T

Dear colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the publication of the latest issue of _Bulletin of Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica_. Please find the TOC below. For the back issues, please consult our website at http://www.mh.sinica.edu.tw/e/index-1.asp.

Best,

Ling-ling Lien
Assistant Research Fellow
Institute of Modern History
Academia Sinica,
Taipei, Taiwan


BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF MODERN HISTORY ACADEMIA SINICA

VOL. 53
CONTENTS

Articles
Pan Kuang-che Creating the _Volksgeist_ of China: Rethinking Liang Qichao's Cultural Nationalism and his Lun Zhongguo xueshu sixiang bianqian zhi dashi (On the Basic Trends of Chinese Intellectual Change)

Cheng Hwei-shing From Controlled Economy to Open Markets: The Foreign Trade Policy of the Post-War National Government

Lin Hsiao-ting The Cold War on the Periphery: American Underground Activities in China's Borderlands during the Post-World War II Period (1947-1951)

Yu Miin-lin From Singing Loud to Singing Low: Soviet Mass Songs in China

Research and Discussion
Feng Chi-hung War and Culture: Looking Back at the Last Decade of Historical Studies of the Culture of the Anti-Japanese War Period

Book Reviews
Peter Chen-main Wang Neil L O'Brien, An American Editor in Early Revolutionary China: John William Powell and the China Weekly/Monthly Review

Lin Man-houng Akamine Mamoru, The Ryukyu Kingdom

Hsu Hui-chi Shuei-may Chang, Casting Off the Shackles of Family:
Ibsen's Nora Figure in Modern Chinese Literature, 1918-1942

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The abstract of the one on ROC trade policy looks quite interesting:

"Shortly after China declared victory in the Anti-Japanese War, the National Government abruptly shifted from its wartime control policies over foreign currency and trade to the cancellation of constraints on the export of agricultural products, and the abolishment of the Foreign Trade Committee and National Trade Corporation. Also exercising a noninterference policy on imported merchandise, the government further opened the gold and foreign currency markets. The initial intention of policymakers was to collect the vast amounts of excess currency issued during the war by means of opening the foreign currency market and selling gold reserves. In order to solve the shortage of goods and services as well as the serious inflation then plaguing society, they hoped that the import of large amounts of foreign merchandises would cure the ever-worsening inflation within a short period of time. Yet actual developments were a far cry from the government’s initial expectations. Opening the financial markets led to the outflow of government gold and foreign currency reserves. The unrestrained imports of foreign goods and services also immensely aggravated the huge imbalance between international revenues and expenses. And as the Civil War progressed, the economies in Guomindang-controlled districts fell beyond remedy, which contributed to the final fall of the Republic of China.

This article explores whether the political failure of the postwar government of the Republic of China was determined by its foreign trade policy. Drawing on an abundance of original sources and relevant research literature, the article begins with a comparison of foreign trade policy during and after the war. With the focus on the ever-changing domestic and international conditions of the postwar world, the article strives to probe into policymakers’ financial beliefs and mentality in an attempt to present a comprehensive description of the initial intentions, policy-making processes, and the precise content and ramifications of the postwar open market trade policy imposed by the government. An in depth inquiry into the background and reasons behind this particular is correspondingly provided."

[Taiwan]