Databases

The six parts of this collection make available all British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1919 and 1980:

1919-1929: Kuomintang, CCP and the Third International
1930-1937: The Long March, civil war in China and the Manchurian Crisis
1938-1948: Open Door, Japanese war and the seeds of communist victory
1949-1956: The Communist revolution
1957-1966: The Great Leap Forward
1967-1980: The Cultural Revolution
The revolution which overthrew the millennia-old imperial system heralded a period of turmoil in China which would last for the best part of forty years. Encapsulated by the rivalry between the Nationalist Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Mao Zedong, the turmoil of warlordism, competing governments, civil wars and Japanese invasion ended only when the Communist Party emerged as masters of a reunified China in 1949. Throughout most of this period the major European powers, the United States and Japan maintained considerable political and economic interests in China, most notably in the foreign concessions in Shanghai and other ‘treaty ports’.

The years following the communist revolution were to see upheavals of a similar magnitude, as the civil war was followed by the economic chaos and mass starvation of the Great Leap Forward, and then Mao’s efforts to return to prominence through the socio-political alterations of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

Due to the long-unique nature of the relationship between Britain and China, these formerly restricted British government documents, consisting of diplomatic dispatches, letters, newspaper cuttings, maps, reports of court cases, biographies of leading personalities, summaries of events and diverse other materials, provide unprecedented levels of detail into one of the most turbulent centuries of Chinese history.

This collection addresses the policies, economies, political relationships and significant events of every major Middle East power. Conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli War, the Lebanese Civil War and the Iranian Revolution are examined in detail, as are the military interventions and peace negotiations carried out by regional and foreign powers like the United States and Russia.

Commercial interests are also scrutinised, with in-depth analyses of Middle East nations’ economic stability and reviews of international arm sales policies. The activities of oil producing nations such as Saudi Arabia are closely monitored, with particular reference to the Gulf States and members of OPEC.

Utilising the significant collection of diplomatic correspondence, minutes, reports, political summaries and personality profiles, students and researchers can explore a decade characterised by conflict.

Oxford Bibliographies Online helps researchers quickly find reliable sources of information by directing them to specific chapters, books, websites, archives, or data. OBO is a springboard for new research that allows for quick movement between texts and databases within our subscribed library content and beyond. It is a starting point for organizing a research plan, or for preparing a writing assignment or syllabus. The style and approach is accessible to students, and the depth of coverage makes it of great use to academic staff. This trial of the British and Irish Literature module supplements our existing subscriptions to the African Studies, Art History, Atlantic History, Biblical Studies, Classics, Medieval Studies, Military History, Political Science, Renaissance and Reformation, Victorian Literature modules. In each subject module, leading scholars have produced a guide to the most significant sources in an area of study they know best. The guides feature a selective list of bibliographic citations supported by direct recommendations about which sources to consult. Each topic has an editorial commentary to show how the cited sources are interrelated. All articles receive multiple peer reviews and editorial board vetting to provide reliable and balanced coverage. Articles are regularly updated by their authors so that information in this resource is always current and accurate. In addition to updating existing articles, new topic guides are added on a regular schedule to expand the scope and extent of each subject module in the library.