Asian History Commons^™

Local Problems, Global Solutions? Making It Rain In Hong Kong C. 1890-1930, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The late nineteenth to early twentieth century saw a small but dedicated rise in experimental rainmaking. The possibility that humanity might one day be able to control the weather – especially to alleviate drought – was very attractive to governments and private investors. The late nineteenth century was an era of scientific optimism and a number of rainmaking experiments across the world had brought the potential for weather control out of the realms of discourse and literature and further into tangible near-future science. There has been a small but thorough historiographical literature on this subject, focusing largely on American, British, …

Martial Arts Studies: A Commentary On The Exploration Of Consciousness In Modern Martial Arts, James H. Sutton

Journal of Conscious Evolution

The rapid globalization of martial arts has reconditioned how the beliefs, customs, and philosophies of traditionally based systems are interpreted and applied in modern practice. As contemporary scholarship struggles to accommodate the cultural histories, myths, and traditions that permeate the perception of martial arts in modern contexts, the focus of inquiry has shifted towards explaining cultural variations in practice rather than understanding the nature of self-awareness derived from self-practice. Consequently, the deeper meanings of martial arts as pathways to personal and transpersonal awareness are often invalidated in favor of objective and verifiable explications. In short, the role of consciousness is …

Think Piece: Urban Echoes: How The New Historiography On Cities Is Reframing Our Understanding Of Mao’S China, Taoyu Yang

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Despite the conventional portrayal of the Chinese revolution as a predominantly peasant-oriented movement, cities emerged as critical arenas for the Chinese Communist Party’s project of modernization and class restructuring during Maoist period (1949–1976). Over the past decade, scholarly attention has increasingly turned to the urban dimensions of the early years of the People’s Republic. This think piece addresses how recent scholarship on cities offers new analytical insights into our understanding of Maoist China by focusing on six recently published monographs. Themes to be discussed in this essay include the contested and evolving notion of socialist modernity, the transformative effects of …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

The Chinese Research Library In Transition: Yuan Tongli: A Chronicle, Mindi Zhang

Journal of East Asian Libraries

No abstract provided.

From Fort To Prison: The Production Of Iloilo City, Ram Paulo A. Anayan

Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance

The foundation of colonial cities in the Philippines rests on violence. The Spanish policies of the reducción forced the natives to settle in pueblos where colonial power is ensured. The resistance of some natives brought about the divide between tagabayan (town dweller) and tagabundok (mountain dweller)—respective connotations of civilization and savagery (Lumbera and Lumbera, 36). This paper examines how this centripetal-centrifugal force of simultaneous identity-production and displacement is echoed in the metonymy of the fort on which the origins of Iloilo City stand. I navigate how this movement manifests in the consciousness of the city across historical periods represented by …

In The Hull Of The Uss Disregard: An Analysis Of Secretary Of State Cordell Hull’S Execution Of Foreign Policy In East Asia And The Precipitation Of Armed Conflict Between Japan And The United States, Eric B. Hawkins

Theses

The political career of Cordell Hull was motivated primarily by trade policy and the courting of Central America through the negotiation of reciprocal trade treaties that helped stabilize, for the most part, the entire Western Hemisphere. He was an obvious choice for Roosevelt’s cabinet to address economic instability. But why was he chosen for Secretary of State? The Open Door Policy, adopted by many Western nations in East Asia during the early 20th century, was a petri dish primed for the growth of political strife and international conflict. With the warnings from Hull’s predecessor, Henry Stimson, placed on the back …

Women And Religion In The Mongol Empire, Karlie Barnett

The Ozark Historical Review

This article contributes toward the effort to uncover the impact of women on the making of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It also considers how women among the Mongols interacted with religion in varied and distinct ways and how these relationships influenced the development of Eurasian religions and the Mongol Empire overall. These interactions, which took place in the personal realm, the political realm, and in the realm of patronage, had profound effects on the development of Eurasian religions and the Mongol Empire.

Disruptions And Continuity In The Singaporean Chinese Community: Social Networks, Collaborationists, And The Black Market Under The British And Japanese Administrations, 1819-1960, Alison Fong

The Ozark Historical Review

This paper focuses on the Chinese community of Singapore and their experiences under the British colonial administration and the Japanese military administration from 1819 to 1960. It argues that the Chinese community utilized and transformed social networks formed during the British colonial era (1819-1942) to adapt to the upheavals that the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942-1945) and the return of the British administration (1945-1960) introduced. These social networks shifted to meet the needs of the Chinese community in response to changing social hierarchies and status quos. Some were based on traditional kinship systems, and others were based on mercantile and …

Interservice Rivalry: Examining The Relationships Between The Intelligence Organizations Of The Navy, The Army And The Oss In China 1939-1943, Samuel G. Peterson

The Ozark Historical Review

Intelligence gathering had a profound impact on WWII. In war-torn China, the US Navy, the Army, and the fledgling OSS contested with each other during the Chinese Nationalists’ fight against the Japanese Empire. The stories of the OSS, the Navy and the Army in China have all, until now, been told from three distinct but interrelated points of view. With each study solely based on a particular organization, bias toward others is inevitable. By synthesizing the sources together and weaving the different interpretations of events simultaneously, a clearer picture of the interdepartmental struggles can be seen. The primary goal of …

Life-Course And Biography Of Things: Minangkabau Women's Headgear, Attari Putri Denendra, Irmawati Marwoto

International Review of Humanities Studies

Like men, objects also have a biography or life-course. Both biographies are intertwined, so when someone experiences a new life phase transition in their life-course, it will cause changes in the objects attached to them. This is also supported by the statement that the identity is performative. The headgear as one of the elements used by Minangkabau women also represents the identity of the wearer. This research was conducted in three stages: (1) data collection in the form of old photos and literature of Minangkabau women with headgear in Batipuh, Fort de Kock, and Payakumbuh, (2) data processing by analysis …

The Influence Of Colonialism On The Development Of Religious Life In Timor Leste, Abdul Kadirsyam Salampessy, Rahadjeng Pulungsari Hadi

International Review of Humanities Studies

Timor-Leste is the youngest country in the world with unique religious dynamics. The Catholic population increased rapidly after independence, while the Muslim population decreased drastically due to political dynamics. The presence of Mari Alkatiri, an Arab-descended Timorese Muslim who became Prime Minister (PM) twice, is a depiction of the presence of Islam in a Catholic-majority country. The long history of colonialism in Timor-Leste has greatly influenced the landscape of religious life there. In its development, the people of Timor-Leste live harmoniously and democratically.

This journal uses a qualitative research method that focuses on the social and cultural phenomena of the …

Everyday Life In The U.S.: An Intersectional Approach To A North Korean Refugee Woman’S Identities, And Experiences, Lyounghee Kim

Communication ETDs

This dissertation examines everyday experiences of a North Korean refugee woman in the U.S., centering her narratives as sites of critique, resistance, and meaning-making. Grounded in Critical Refugee Studies, Asian American Studies, and Critical Intercultural Communication and framed by intersectionality, it explores how interlocking structures of power shape and are shaped by her life. Rather than focusing solely on trauma or assimilation, this study highlights her digital storytelling, faith, and mutual aid practices as acts of survival, dignity, and moral agency. Using a qualitative, narrative inquiry approach grounded in critical reflexivity, it thematically analyzes her stories to reveal how she …

How Stereotypes And Labor Shortages Lured Asians To The Sunshine: A Brief Historical And Demographic Review Of Asian Americans In Florida., Wenxian Zhang

Faculty Publications

Asians began to arrive in Florida in the years after the Civil War, concentrated mainly in railroad construction, agriculture, and service sectors such as laundry, restaurant, and grocery business. Their population grew very slowly until after World War II, when the discriminatory immigration policies were finally lifted. The 1965 immigration reform act, openings of the Walt Disney World and other tourist attractions, the end of the Vietnam War, the thriving sunbelt economy, and the rapid population growth have all brought numerous new Asian immigrants to the southernmost state in America. Shaped by multiple waves of immigration and various socioeconomic factors, …

Emulating Empire: Washington’S Preoccupation With British Counterinsurgency In Malaya And U.S. Commitment To Vietnam, Wen-Qing Ngoei

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This essay examines how Washington’s deep preoccupation with the British-Malayan counterinsurgency tactics–tactics that routed the guerilla fighters of the Malayan Communist Party–shaped US commitment to Vietnam. This US preoccupation, stoked by Britain’s (and Malaya’s) promotion of their counterinsurgency knowledge to US leaders, also influenced the lessons that US analysts and thinkers absorbed from the United States’ defeat in Indochina. Most studies of British-Malayan counterinsurgency and its connection to the Vietnam War fixate upon debating the relevance of the former to the latter and how this bears on US failures in Indochina. However, this essay focuses on the understudied fervor with …

For The Time Beings, Tori Hong

Masters Theses

For the Time Beings is a socially engaged installation and artist book exploring the material consequences and future possibilities of sociocultural time theories. Time, in the West, is typically associated with Newtonian linearity, while in the East, time theory relies on Buddhist principles. These epistemologies reinforce hierarchical and patriarchal structures. Centered on Indigenous Asian and Asian American perspectives, For the Time Beings challenges dominant ideologies of existing in time and space.

For nearly a year, I’ve burned handwritten prayers on new and full moons. The ashes of these prayers are incorporated into reverential drawings of chosen ancestors, made with charcoal …

Citrus Farming, Tourism, And Globalization: Jeju Island’S Transformation Under South Korea’S State-Led Development, Caitlin Hong

Student Work

The Williams Prize in East Asian Studies is awarded to Caitlin Hong for her outstanding senior thesis, “Citrus, Capital, and Control: Jeju Island’s Transformation under State-Led Development.”

Hong’s work exemplifies intellectual ambition, methodological rigor, and original insight. Through an interdisciplinary blend of historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, she offers the first comprehensive English-language account of Jeju Island’s citrus farming industry, tracing its development from the postwar period to the present day.

Demonstrating extraordinary initiative, Hong designed and executed an independent research trip to Jeju Island, conducting interviews with citrus farmers, laborers, and experts, while also consulting numerous primary sources in …

The Struggles For Equality And Democracy In Modern China: Which Was More Influential?, Angelina K. Lambros

Publications and Research

This paper analyzes the struggles for democracy and equality in modern China, from the fall of the Qing Dynasty to the Tiananmen Square movement. It considers which struggle was more influential, evaluating the recurring theme of a fight for democracy in China since the New Culture Movement, and a quest for social and economic equality that Mao and the Chinese Communist Party committed themselves to. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the struggle for democratic norms and institutions was always present among the Chinese people, but it did not succeed in pushing the government or the Party to adopt political reforms. …

Res Historica, Volume 4, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2025 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Samuel Sanders, and Julia Ackerman. The cover art for this volume is an open access image.

On/ In The Ground With Vietnamese Communists: The Cu Chi Tunnels In The Classroom, Wen-Qing Ngoei

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Undergraduates often arrive in my classes convinced that great men, and a few exceptional women, are the ones who make history. Here, they think of power wielded by presidents, generals, and self-styled geniuses of strategy and diplomacy. (Henry Kissinger’s name invariably bubbles up in class discussions, like it or not.) Perhaps this happens elsewhere? In Singapore, this mindset likely takes root because the country’s record of benevolent authoritarianism underpins the legitimacy and influence of political elites. Equally, male citizens of Singapore perform compulsory military service before entering university and internalize, readily or grudgingly, that rank confers power—it is power—and that …

Catchwater Colonialism: Reshaping Hong Kong’S Hydrology, Infrastructure, Metabolism And Landscape, 1937–1968, Jack Greatrex, Florence Mok

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This article explores the development of hydrological infrastructure in colonial Hong Kong between the late 1930s and the late 1960s. Utilizing archival sources in Hong Kong and London, it shows how this infrastructure fundamentally reshaped Hong Kong’s geography. By way of concrete catchwaters and metal pipes, both ‘green’ and ‘urban’ Hong Kong became counter-intuitively interconnected. This interconnection created both unintended consequences and novel opportunities for colonial governance, driving forward natural conservation, state intervention into rural society and the development of new carceral institutions. Exploring these developments provides pivotal insight into the urban history of Hong Kong, with implications for global …

The Cycle Of Giving:, Sarai Brown

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

On one hot summer day in the middle of a 3-month stint studying Mandarin Chinese at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) in Taichung, Taiwan, my friends and I were desperate to sate our appetites after class, even in the atrociously hot and humid conditions. Most of our little group was drawn to a 牛肉麵 niúròu miàn (beef noodle) shop, but the thought of hot soup on a day like this drove me and a couple of others to continue our search. We stumbled upon another outdoor restaurant—though “restaurant” is perhaps a loose term for the holey-tent-covered food stand with mismatched …

Asian American Navigation In Higher Education: Do We Belong At Colby College?, Amanda Rose Alpert

Honors Theses

This thesis explores how Asian American students navigate their belonging at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI), specifically a case study at the higher educational institution Colby College. In understanding how Asian American students navigate the spaces around them, this thesis dives into the history of Asian immigration to the U.S., the Asian American politicized label, and the different diasporas and cultural nuances Asian Americans experience that make up the complicated, diverse, and misunderstood label. Through exploring global racializations of Asian bodies and legacies of Western imperialism and colonialism, this gives a basis of how Asian Americans understand themselves as persons living …

National Renewal Through Fertility:, Austin Siler

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

Japan has been facing fertility decline over the past several decades. Indeed, this decline constitutes a severe demographic crisis due to its birth rates falling to record lows year after year. Low birth rates have been correlated with economic and societal instability. As Akram (163) posits: “The combination of unfavorable demographics and poor economic growth has resulted in a secular decline” which has no current sign of shifting based on current policy. The government has implemented numerous policies to try and tackle this issue, but with little success. Japan’s population as of 2024 is estimated to be 125 million and …

Full Issue

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

No abstract provided.

Institutionalisation And Institutional Evolution: A Model Of Selecting Government Officials In Ancient China, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

The evolution of institutions in selecting government officials in ancient China reflected efficiency considerations and increased power concentration in the hands of the ruler. Selecting government officials in ancient China became more rule‐based over time, and standardisation and centralisation were some key features of this process. In this dynamic model, a higher volume of transactions, shown as the number of candidates needed to be evaluated, leads to institutionalisation, which has a higher fixed cost but a lower marginal cost in processing each transaction. In the steady state, a ruler with a more encompassing interest chooses a higher level of institutionalisation. …

The Heart Of The University: Student Clubs And The American Colonization Of The Pacific, Eli Arnold

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Students have travelled across the Pacific Ocean to study at the University of Montana for over a century, and the contributions of these students deserve to be studied. This thesis explores the educational and community building roles that the historic International Club and Filipino Club, as well as the contemporary Pacific Islanders Club fulfilled. Students from the Philippines and Hawaiʻi provide clear examples of the potential for college campuses to be gathering places for broader community. This thesis is also a study of the global phenomenon of colonialism as seen from Filipino and Native Hawaiian students who travelled to Missoula …

A Forgotten Piece Of History: The Story Of The First Municipal Council Of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Chandra Richard De Silva

History Faculty Publications

The website of the Municipal Council of Colombo asserts that it was founded in 1865 (Colombo Municipal Council, 2015). This is also the story that is recounted in scholarly histories of Colombo, in modern websites and in popular accounts of the history of the city. The objective of this article is to demonstrate that Colombo had a municipal council as early as the sixteenth century and to illuminate the story of its existence for over 70 years - until well into the seventeenth century. It also explores the functions of the council, its relationship with Portuguese officials who ruled the …

The Rise Of Mao: Chinese Civil War And The Role Of Sub-State Actors, 1924-1949, Jackson Trahant

Tenor of Our Times

Mao Zedong led one of the most successful peasant rebellions in human history, changing the global stage of politics forever. Analysis of the 30 year war between Mao’s CCP and the Nationalist Party regime, led by Chiang Kai-shek, reveals the vital role of the Chinese peasant class as a force for revolution. Through ideological pedagogy, Mao formed a highly loyal army that in turn transformed him into a premier political figure of the 20th century, both hated and revered. His story informs the modern field of comparative politics as to how intrastate conflicts rely on sub-state actors for their success.

Consumptive Femininity: (De)Constructions Of Gender And Colonization In Korean Diaspora Literature, Jack Kelly

Honors Program Theses

This paper explores how two authors with Korean heritage use similar metaphors to write about the same historical traumas. I engage close readings of two novels—Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko and Yu Miri’s The End of August—to interrogate how each author uses images of food/food preparation as well as images of sexual encounters to draw links between exploited bodies and exploited land. Ultimately, I find that the differences in these two authors’ approaches reflect their distance from modern centers of empire. This reminds us of the importance of having a diverse literary and historical canon that centers on authors who have …