Select List of Books ... Relating to the Far East.
by Appleton Prentiss Clark Griffin.
PREFATORY NOTE
This List deals with the later conditions in the Far East. The political and economic aspects are the special subjects dealt with. For convenience of consultation the t.i.tles are arranged under the following subdivisions: Russia; History, politics, etc.; Russian expansion; Trans-Siberian railroad; Tibet; Manchuria; j.a.pan; Korea; Russo-j.a.panese relations; Far East: American relations; Far East: European relations; Anglo-Russian relations; and China.
_History of Russia._--A compendium of Russian history is Morfill"s "A history of Russia from the birth of Peter the Great to Nicholas II."
Rambaud"s "The history of Russia" is a work of greater extent, the later editions bring the history down to 1904. In Wallace"s "Russia"
the history stops at 1877.
Recent works in English on the _internal affairs of Russia_ are Bruggen"s "Russia of to-day;" Drage"s "Russian affairs;" Latimer"s "Russia and Turkey in the nineteenth century;" Leroy-Beaulieu"s "The empire of the tsars and the Russians;" Palmer"s "Russian life in town and country;" and Schierbrand"s "Russia, her strength and her weakness." The volumes issued by the Russian government in connection with the World"s Columbian exposition contain much statistical information. Works in foreign languages to be specially noted are: Ans.p.a.ch"s "La Russie economique et l"uvre de M. de Witte;" Bruggen"s "Das heutige Russland;" Danielson"s "Histoire du developpement economique de la Russie depuis l"affranchiss.e.m.e.nt des serfs;" Delage"s "Chez les Russes;" Deschamps"s "La Russie au 20^{me} siecle;"
Kovalevskii"s "La Russie a la fin du 19^e siecle;" Kupchanko"s "Russland in Zahlen;" Machat"s "Le developpement economique de la Russie;" Niet"s "La Russie d"aujourd"hui" and Strannik"s "La pensee russe contemporaine."
_Russian navy._--Clarke"s "Russia"s sea-power, past and present; or, The rise of the Russian navy" and Jane"s "The imperial Russian navy; its past, present, and future."
_Russian expansion._--Rambaud"s "The expansion of Russia" is a valuable economic study. Skrine"s "The expansion of Russia, 1815-1900" is a sympathetic record down to 1900; Norman"s "All the Russias" inclines to look with favor on Russian policies; Beveridge"s "The Russian advance"
is the result of a study of conditions made in a visit in 1901 and is commendatory of Russia; Chirol"s "The middle eastern question"
considers phases of Russian expansion with special regard to Russian relations with Afghanistan, Persia and Tibet, and to the position of the Indian empire; Gerrare"s "Greater Russia" is written with the object of conveying "an adequate idea of Russia"s advance: her industrial progress, commercial prospects, the openings presented for both capital and labour, the markets closed to foreign enterprise." G.
Frederick Wright in his work ent.i.tled "Asiatic Russia" holds that "except in the case of the United States, no other nation of the world has before it the clear field for expansion that Russia has in her Asiatic possessions, and no other nation has more completely at her command the material and moral resources of modern science and Christian civilization than she has, if she but continues to use them rightly." Krahmer"s "Russland in Asien" is a detailed history in six volumes, of which a single volume is devoted to a special phase of Russian activities in the Far East.
_Trans-Siberian railway._--There are numerous travellers" accounts including Cary"s "The Trans-Siberian route; or, Notes of a journey from Pekin to New York in 1902;" Lynch"s "The path of empire;" Shoemaker"s "The great Siberian railway from St. Petersburg to Pekin;" Simpson"s "Side-lights on Siberia. Some accounts of the great Siberian railroad, the prisons and the exile systems;" Vladimir"s "Russia on the Pacific, and the Siberian railway" and others in the articles in periodicals noted on pp. 19-21 of this List. The sumptuous volume printed by the Russian Ministry of ways of communication, printed in English under the t.i.tle "Guide to the Great Siberian railway" is to be specially noted.
The account published by the United States Bureau of statistics in its Monthly summary of commerce and finance, April, 1899, contains valuable material.
_Manchuria._--Hosie"s "Manchuria: its people, resources and history" is a good first hand authority. Whigham"s "Manchuria and Korea" is a study of political and economic conditions as well as descriptive.
_History of j.a.pan._--Recent works are Brinkley"s "j.a.pan; its history, arts and literature;" Diosy"s "The new Far East;" Griffis"s "The Mikado"s empire. 10th ed., including history to beginning of 1903;"
Gulick"s "Evolution of the j.a.panese, social and psychic;" Koch"s "j.a.pan. Geschichte nach j.a.panischen Quellen und ethnographischen Skizzen;" Murray"s "The story of j.a.pan" and Ransome"s "j.a.pan in transition." A history of j.a.pan in restricted compa.s.s is given in the second volume of Helmolt"s "The world"s history, a survey of man"s record."
The recent _descriptive works_ are:--Brinkley"s "j.a.pan; its history, arts and literature" and the volume he has edited ent.i.tled "j.a.pan; described and ill.u.s.trated by the j.a.panese; written by eminent j.a.panese authorities and scholars;" Browne"s "j.a.pan; the place and the people;"
Brownell"s "The heart of j.a.pan;" Chamberlain"s "Things j.a.panese" and the guide written with W. B. Mason ent.i.tled "A handbook for travellers in j.a.pan;" Dumolard"s "Le j.a.pon politique, economique, et social"; Scherer"s "j.a.pan today;" Singleton"s "j.a.pan as seen and described by famous writers;" Sladen"s "Queer things about j.a.pan;" Gilbert Watson"s "Three rolling stones in j.a.pan" and W. Petrie Watson"s "j.a.pan; aspects & destinies."
_The j.a.panese navy._--F. T. Jane"s "The imperial j.a.panese navy" is similar in scope to his book on the Russian navy and is of likewise timely value.
_j.a.panese art_ is treated in Anderson"s "The pictorial arts of j.a.pan;"
Brinkley"s "The art of j.a.pan" and his "j.a.pan; described and ill.u.s.trated by the j.a.panese; written by eminent j.a.panese authorities and scholars; with an essay on j.a.panese art by Kaluzo Okakura;" Okakura"s "The ideals of the East, with special reference to the art of j.a.pan;" and Rein"s "The industries of j.a.pan. Together with an account of its agriculture, forestry, arts, and commerce."
_Korea._--Hamilton"s "Korea" is to be noted as a comprehensive account giving results of recent observations. Underwood"s "Fifteen years among the top-knots; or, Life in Korea" gives a picture of missionary life in Korea.
The literature consisting of magazine articles on the present war is noted under the heading Russo-j.a.panese relations on pp. 40-48 of this List.
A selection of t.i.tles relating to the _political interests of the United States_ in the Far East is given on pp. 49-52 of this List. It includes some works dealing with the first appearance of Americans in Asiatic countries and the history of their partic.i.p.ation in Far Eastern affairs. In the section devoted to Anglo-Russian relations are noted works dealing with the Russian advance in Central Asia and its effects upon English interests.
_History of China._--An extensive work is Boulger"s "The history of China," first published in 1881-1884, and revised editions in 1898 and 1900, respectively. Its chief value lies in its detailed account of "European progress in China subsequent to the signing of the treaty of Nankin in 1842, including the Taeping rebellion in all its phases and Gordon"s campaign." The earlier part of his history is drawn mainly from the Jesuit epitomes of the Chinese annalists. The new edition of his "Short History" has an additional chapter, written by another hand, giving a summary account of the reign of Kw.a.n.g Su, covering the capture of Pekin.
Douglas"s "China", forming a volume of the "Story of the nations series" gives all that the general reader needs. In Macgowan"s "A history of China from the earliest days down to the present" recourse has been had to the original authorities. "It is not a compilation gathered from all sources, but a reproduction from the original of the Standard History of China." Williams"s "The middle kingdom" first published in 1848, const.i.tuted for a long time the princ.i.p.al source of information for English readers, and in its revised form is still regarded as a cla.s.sic. Brinkley"s "China; its history, arts and literature" is of very great value. The _later history of China_ is dealt with, among others, by Beals, Colquhoun, Favier, Hart, Krausse, Landor, Leroy-Beaulieu, Lynch, Mitford, Norman, Thomson, Wen Ching and Wilson.
_China._--_Political and economic conditions_ are discussed in works by Bard, Beresford, Brandt, Brenier, Colquhoun, Gorst, Krausse, Leroy-Beaulieu, Nelson, Parker, Parsons, Pinon, and Wilson. _See also_ "Commercial China in 1904" published by the United States Bureau of statistics.
For the _foreign relations_ of China there are to be noted Cordier"s "Histoire des relations de la Chine avec les puissances occidentales 1860-1900," and Ireland"s "China and the powers; chapters in the history of Chinese intercourse with western nations."
The _social life_ of China can be studied in Douglas"s "Society in China;" Hesse-Wartegg"s "China und j.a.pan;" Little"s "Intimate China;"
Smith"s "Chinese characteristics" and his "Village life in China."
_Travel in China._--Recent works are Bishop"s "The Yangtze Valley and beyond;" c.u.mming"s "Wanderings in China;" Jack"s "The back blocks of China;" Little"s "Through the Yang-tse gorges;" Scidmore"s "China" and Thomson"s "Through China with a camera."
_Missions in China._--For this subject see works by Barrows, Edkins, Gundry and Michie.
_Chinese bibliography._--Cordier"s "Bibliotheca sinica. Dictionnaire bibliographique des ouvrages relatifs a l"Empire chinois," is a monumental work.
A. P. C. GRIFFIN _Chief Bibliographer_
HERBERT PUTNAM _Librarian of Congress_ _Washington, D. C., July 1, 1904_
SELECT LIST OF BOOKS (WITH REFERENCES TO PERIODICALS) RELATING TO THE FAR EAST
RUSSIA: HISTORY, POLITICS, ETC.
(See also Russians Expansion, pp. 12-16 of this list.)
=Ans.p.a.ch=, Alfred. La Russie economique et l"uvre de M. de Witte, avec introduction par Ch. de Lariviere.
_Paris: H. Le Soudier, 1904. (4), xviii, 394 pp. Portrait. 12^o._
Appendix: La Russie et la Perse au point de vue commercial.
Fragment d"un discours de M. de Witte.
Contains chapters on de Witte, railroads, emigration in Siberia, the frontier guard, the merchant marine, monetary reform, credit, public debt, bridges, etc., showing results which de Witte has achieved.
=Brandes=, Georg Morris Cohen. Impressions of Russia. Translated from the Danish by Samuel C. Eastman.
_New York: T. Y. Crowell & co., [1889]. x, 353 pp. Portrait. 12^o._
=Browning=, Oscar. Peter the Great.
_London: Hutchinson and co., 1898. viii, 347 pp. Portrait. 12^o._