INTRODUCTION: THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD IN GENERAL

Historical research and writing on China 1912-49 have flourished in four major parts of the world - China, Japan, the Atlantic community and the Soviet Union - but communication among them has been less than perfect. No doubt this is due to the fact that most historians have but one lifetime at their disposal. They should try to take account of work on China published in Chinese, Japanese, English, French, German, Russian, Korean and other languages, just as they should also be interested in concepts derived from economics, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology and other disciplines. It is an imperfect world.

The Chinese recording of events after the end of the dynasty in 1912 was aided by the rise of the press and publishing industry. Historical compilation and publication were pursued after 1949 on Taiwan under the Nationalist government of the Kuomintang, and in the People's Republic both before and after the Cultural Revolution. The 1980s are witnessing an enormous outpouring of Chinese documentation, research and discussion on republican history.