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Instructions for Contributors
Submissions
The China Quarterly welcomes the submission of manuscripts from scholars, including postgraduate students, on all aspects of contemporary China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Tibet. Submissions in the fields of religion, media, literature, or on China prior to 1978, will be considered if they engage with issues of wider significance in contemporary China.
The China Quarterly will consider two main types of submissions: regular articles (up to 9,000 words, including abstract, footnotes, bibliography and tables), and research reports (up to 4,500 words, including abstract, footnotes, bibliography and tables). Articles are in-depth and theoretical pieces which should present original research in combination with analytical argument; research reports are shorter pieces based on primary research and empirical evidence. We will not consider manuscripts that are under consideration elsewhere or that have been published in any form.
An abstract of 100–150 words, five or six keywords and a bibliography should also be provided. Please pay particular attention to the choice of the keywords (compound nouns and phrases are accepted). All submissions should conform to the styling of The China Quarterly. As soon as a manuscript is submitted, authors will receive a message acknowledging receipt.
We do not accept manuscripts submitted by a third party. All manuscripts must be submitted by the author(s) directly through the ScholarOne site. Submission to and publication in The China Quarterly is free of charge, except where the author elects to publish Gold Open Access, in which case an article processing fee will be levied after acceptance.
Style
Spelling. Follow Oxford English spelling. Use “z” spelling throughout (but follow copy in quotations, book titles, articles, etc.), except for analyse. Anglicize all American spelling (other than in quotations, book titles, articles, etc).
Romanization. Use pinyin without tone/diacritical marks, except: Chiang Kai-shek, Sun Yat-sen, Taipei, Kuomintang, Peking University, Tsinghua University, names of people living outside mainland China.
Chinese characters. Chinese characters are incorporated into article texts (i.e. English (pinyin, characters)) so authors must provide Chinese characters for all Chinese phrases and proper nouns used in the main text (not footnotes) on first appearance. Characters for people’s names and geographical locations should follow the pinyin transcription without brackets. However, Chinese characters are not needed for names of provinces, municipalities and provincial capitals.
Numbers and dates. One to ten spelled out, 11 or more in figures; per cent in text, but % in footnotes. Use comma for 1,000 units. First, second, third, 11th. Dates: 2 March 2012, 20th century, 1980s. Page references: 324–26 but 324–336 (i.e. the rule is that you always repeat the last number that is the same, until you get to thousands, in which case, 2050–64).
Tables and Figures
Tables should be numbered with Arabic figures. Each table should have a heading and show sources at the end. The presentation of statistics must conform to Western norms (e.g. thousands, millions, billions, not ten thousand, hundred million, etc.).
Camera-ready copy should be supplied for all figures, graphs, etc. Illustrations will be published in grayscale in print, but in colour online so authors should ensure that colour figures are both legible and clear when rendered in black and white. Photographs should not usually be used. In any event, it is the responsibility of the author to seek permission to reproduce any material to which s/he does not own the copyright, including material found online.
For further details of file formats please see Cambridge Journals Artwork Guide.
Acknowledgements
These should be restricted to acknowledging the names of organizations that provided the assistance/funding that enabled the article to be written. It is not necessary to thank anonymous reviewers.
Copyright
The policy of The China Quarterly is that authors (or in some cases their employers) retain copyright and grant SOAS, University of London a licence to publish their work. In the case of gold open access articles this is a non-exclusive licence. Authors must complete and return an author publishing agreement form as soon as their article has been accepted for publication; the journal is unable to publish the article without this. Please download the appropriate publishing agreement here .
For open access articles, the form also sets out the Creative Commons licence under which the article is made available to end users: a fundamental principle of open access is that content should not simply be accessible but should also be freely re-usable. Articles will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY) by default. This means that the article is freely available to read, copy and redistribute, and can also be adapted (users can “remix, transform, and build upon” the work) for any commercial or non-commercial purpose, as long as proper attribution is given. Authors can, in the publishing agreement form, choose a different kind of Creative Commons license (including those prohibiting non-commercial and derivative use) if they prefer.
Standard Reference Style
References should be placed in the footnotes in the author/date format, and in full in the References section at the end of the article.
In footnotes
Sources are cited in footnotes by the author's surname, the publication date of the work cited, and a page number if necessary (page numbers should be given for all quotations). Full details are given in the reference list (under the heading References). Place the footnote indicator at the appropriate point in the text, usually at the end of the sentence after punctuation.
One author
Duckett 2010.
Duckett 2010, 54.
Up to three authors
O’Brien and Li 2006.
Liu, He and Wu 2008, 23–24.
Four authors or more
He et al. 2010
Several references
Separate the references with semicolons. If citing more than one work by an author, do not repeat the name:
Rozelle 1991, 1996; Duckett 2010.
Rozelle 1991, 1996, 84; Duckett 2010, 54–55.
Lu 2000a, 2000b, 82; Duckett 2010, 9.
Within a sentence in a footnote
In a sentence the date and page will be placed after the author’s name between brackets:
As Duckett (2010, 67) points out, “quoted text.”
Authors with same surname
Wang, Hufeng 2009; Wang, Shaoguang 1995.
Williams, Peter 2012; Williams, Bob 2008.
Williams, Peter, and Wang 2003.
No author
Cite first few words of title plus the year.
Organization as author
The organization can be listed under its abbreviation so that the footnote citation is shorter. If this is the case, alphabetize the reference under the abbreviation rather than the full name:
In footnote: WHO 2012.
In the reference list: WHO (Word Health Organization). 2012. Title …
Author with two works in the same year
Put a, b, c after the year
(Chen 2011a, 2011b)
Personal communication/interview
First citation: Interview with DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo, Taipei, 25 March 2010.
Subsequent citations: Interview, Liu Chien-kuo.
Anonymous interviewee: Interview with central-level official, Beijing, January 2007.
Subsequent citations: Interview with central-level official.
Unknown date
Williams n.d.
Williams forthcoming.
Several editions
List the date of the edition used first, followed by original date in square brackets:
Author 1983 [1890].
Two or more consecutive references to the same work
Use Ibid. followed by page(s) if they differ:
Ibid.
Ibid., 14–16.
Tables and figures
References cited in tables or figure legends should be included in the reference list.
In reference list
Layout: Use full author names. Do not use dashes (¬———) to replace author names.
Order: Alphabetically by last name of author. If no author or editor, order by title.
A single-author entry precedes a multi-author entry that begins with the same name.
If the reference list contains two or more items by the same author but in different years, the oldest publication should appear first.
If the reference list contains two or more items by the same author in the same year, add a, b, etc. and list them alphabetically by title of the work:
Williams, Peter. 2011a. Book Title.
Williams, Peter. 2011b. Title of Book.
Book
One author
Dickson, Bruce. 2008. Red Capitalists in China: The Party, Private Entrepreneurs, and Prospects for Political Change. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Chen, Peiai. 2008. Zhongwai guanggao shi (A History of Advertising in China and Beyond). Beijing: Zhongguo yujia chubanshe.
NB: Do not capitalize pinyin words, except for proper nouns.
Two authors
O’Brien, Kevin, and Lianjiang Li. 2006. Rightful Resistance in the Chinese Countryside. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Three and more authors
Wong, Christine P.W., Christopher Heady and Wing Thye Woo. 1995. Fiscal Management and Economic Reform in the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
Organization as author
World Bank. 2012. Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications.
No author
Begin the bibliography entry with the title, and ignore “the”, “a” or “an” for the purposes of alphabetical order.
Chapter in an edited volume
Wang, Shaoguang. 1995. “The rise of the regions: fiscal reform and the decline of central state capacity in China.” In Andrew G. Walder (ed.), The Waning of the Communist State: Economic Origins of Political Decline in China and Hungary. Berkeley: University of California Press, 87–113.
Perry, Elizabeth J. 2011. “From mass campaigns to managed campaigns: ‘constructing a new socialist countryside’.” In Sebastian Heilmann and Elizabeth J. Perry (eds.), Mao’s Invisible Hand: The Political Foundations of Adaptive Governance in China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 30–61.
Tang, Jun. 2004. “Jiasu zuidi shenghuo baozhang zhidu de guifanhua yunzuo” (Speed up the standardization of the minimum livelihood guarantee system). In Ru Xin, Lu Xueyi and Li Peilin (eds.), Shehui lanpishu: 2004 nian: Zhongguo shehui xingshi fenxi yu yuce (Social Blue Book: 2004 Analysis and Predictions of China’s Social Situation). Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe, 11–28.
Not in English/Chinese
Bianco, Lucien. 2010. La révolution fourvoyée: Parcours dans la Chine du XXe siècle. Paris: Editions de l’Aube.
(Capitalize sentence-style, but according to the conventions of the relevant language.)
Online
If you used an electronic version, cite the online version, include the URL or DOI.
Place of publication
Where two cities are given, include the first one only. If the city could be confused with another, add the abbreviation of the state, province, or country:
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Publisher
Omit initial “the”, and “Inc.”, “Ltd”, “Co.”, “Publishing Co.”, etc.
When the publisher’s name includes the state name, the abbreviation is not needed:
Berkeley: University of California Press
Journal
If you used an online-only version, include a DOI or URL.
One author
Wang, Hufeng. 2009. “A dilemma of Chinese healthcare reform: how to re-define government roles.” China Economic Review 20(4), 598–604.
Zhang, Yi. 2008. “Dangdai Zhongguo zhongchan jieceng de zhengzhi taidu” (Political attitudes of the middle stratum in contemporary China). Zhongguo shehui kexue 2, 117–131.
More than one author
Please follow ‘book’ style for listing authors.
Conference Proceedings
Individual contributions to conference proceedings are treated like chapters in multi-author books. If published in a journal, treat as an article.
Paper
Yang, Guobin. 2002. “How does the internet change the dynamics of protest: a case from China.” Paper presented at the conference on “Authority in Contention,” University of Notre Dame, Indiana, 14–15 August 2002.
Thesis
Choi, Mihwa. 2008. “Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty.” PhD diss., University of Chicago.
Unpublished work
Use Forthcoming instead of the date.
Internet
Use only in footnotes, unless cited multiple times, in which case put in References.
Non-authored internet sources without an easily identifiable name or with a long URL may be left in the footnotes.
Authored source
Tang, Jun. 2008. “Jianli zonghe de zuidi shenghuo baozhang zhidu” (Establish a comprehensive minimum livelihood guarantee system), Xinhuanet, 18 March, http://thjp.vip.sina.com/M.htm. Accessed 18 March 2008.
Non-authored source
China.org.cn. 2009. “China’s new generation of migrant workers,” 26 October, http://www.china.org.cn/china/... 18769335.htm. Accessed 28 October 2009.
Newspaper or magazine
Authored source
Li, Jing. 2005. “World biosafety standard adopted,” China Daily, 20 May.
Non-authored source
“Title” (trans.), Newspaper, date.
Newspapers and magazines are cited in the footnote, and no entry is needed in References, unless cited multiple times, in which case use China Daily, 12 June 2010 in footnotes for non-authored sources.
Other reference types
Archival references
Depending on the format, these can be left in the footnotes or included in the bibliography.
Songs and recordings
Album titles in italics; song titles in lower case, quotation marks.
Last updated: 17th September 2019
Publication Ethics
All authors are required to comply with Cambridge University Press’s publishing ethics guidelines. As part of its editorial processes, this journal may share relevant submission data and manuscript content with in-house or third-party tools to perform research integrity and other submission checks. Any such information sharing is conducted in accordance with the appropriate privacy and processing laws, applicable Terms of Use, and ethical guidance. In cases of alleged or suspected misconduct, the journal will investigate in line with COPE recommendations.
Policy on prior publication
When authors submit manuscripts to this journal, these manuscripts should not be under consideration, accepted for publication or in press within a different journal, book or similar entity, unless explicit permission or agreement has been sought from all entities involved. However, deposition of a preprint on the author’s personal website, in an institutional repository, or in a preprint archive shall not be viewed as prior or duplicate publication. Authors should follow the Cambridge University Press Preprint Policy regarding preprint archives and maintaining the version of record.
English language editing services
Authors, particularly those whose first language is not English, may wish to have their English-language manuscripts checked by a native speaker before submission. This step is optional, but may help to ensure that the academic content of the paper is fully understood by the Editor and any reviewers.
In order to help prospective authors to prepare for submission and to reach their publication goals, Cambridge University Press offers a range of high-quality manuscript preparation services, including language editing. You can find out more on our language services page.
Please note that the use of any of these services is voluntary, and at the author's own expense. Use of these services does not guarantee that the manuscript will be accepted for publication, nor does it restrict the author to submitting to a Cambridge-published journal.
Competing Interests
All authors must include a competing interest declaration in their title page. This declaration will be subject to editorial review and may be published in the article.
Competing interests are situations that could be perceived to exert an undue influence on the content or publication of an author’s work. They may include, but are not limited to, financial, professional, contractual or personal relationships or situations.
If the manuscript has multiple authors, the author submitting must include competing interest declarations relevant to all contributing authors.
Example wording for a declaration is as follows: “Competing interests: Author 1 is employed at organisation A, Author 2 is on the Board of company B and is a member of organisation C. Author 3 has received grants from company D.” If no competing interests exist, the declaration should state “Competing interests: The author(s) declare none”.
Authorship and contributorship
All authors listed on any papers submitted to this journal must be in agreement that the authors listed would all be considered authors according to disciplinary norms, and that no authors who would reasonably be considered an author have been excluded. For further details on this journal’s authorship policy, please see this journal's publishing ethics policies.
Author affiliations
Author affiliations should represent the institution(s) at which the research presented was conducted and/or supported and/or approved. For non-research content, any affiliations should represent the institution(s) with which each author is currently affiliated.
For more information, please see our author affiliation policy and author affiliation FAQs.
ORCID
We encourage authors to identify themselves using ORCID when submitting a manuscript to this journal. ORCID provides a unique identifier for researchers and, through integration with key research workflows such as manuscript submission and grant applications, provides the following benefits:
- Discoverability: ORCID increases the discoverability of your publications, by enabling smarter publisher systems and by helping readers to reliably find work that you have authored.
- Convenience: As more organisations use ORCID, providing your iD or using it to register for services will automatically link activities to your ORCID record, and will enable you to share this information with other systems and platforms you use, saving you re-keying information multiple times.
- Keeping track: Your ORCID record is a neat place to store and (if you choose) share validated information about your research activities and affiliations.
See our ORCID FAQs for more information. If you don’t already have an iD, you can create one by registering directly at https://ORCID.org/register.
ORCIDs can also be used if authors wish to communicate to readers up-to-date information about how they wish to be addressed or referred to (for example, they wish to include pronouns, additional titles, honorifics, name variations, etc.) alongside their published articles. We encourage authors to make use of the ORCID profile’s “Published Name” field for this purpose. This is entirely optional for authors who wish to communicate such information in connection with their article. Please note that this method is not currently recommended for author name changes: see Cambridge’s author name change policy if you want to change your name on an already published article. See our ORCID FAQs for more information.
Supplementary materials
Material that is not essential to understanding or supporting a manuscript, but which may nonetheless be relevant or interesting to readers, may be submitted as supplementary material. Supplementary material will be published online alongside your article, but will not be published in the pages of the journal. Types of supplementary material may include, but are not limited to, appendices, additional tables or figures, datasets, videos, and sound files.
Supplementary materials will not be typeset or copyedited, so should be supplied exactly as they are to appear online. Please see our general guidance on supplementary materials for further information.
Where relevant we encourage authors to publish additional qualitative or quantitative research outputs in an appropriate repository, and cite these in manuscripts.
Author Hub
You can find guides for many aspects of publishing with Cambridge at Author Hub, our suite of resources for Cambridge authors.
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools
We acknowledge the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the research and writing processes. To ensure transparency, we expect any such use to be declared and described fully to readers, and to comply with our plagiarism policy and best practices regarding citation and acknowledgements. We do not consider artificial intelligence (AI) tools to meet the accountability requirements of authorship, and therefore generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and similar should not be listed as an author on any submitted content.
In particular, any use of an AI tool:
- to generate images within the manuscript should be accompanied by a full description of the process used, and declared clearly in the image caption(s)
- to generate text within the manuscript should be accompanied by a full description of the process used, include appropriate and valid references and citations, and be declared in the manuscript’s Acknowledgements.
- to analyse or extract insights from data or other materials, for example through the use of text and data mining, should be accompanied by a full description of the process used, including details and appropriate citation of any dataset(s) or other material analysed in all relevant and appropriate areas of the manuscript
- must not present ideas, words, data, or other material produced by third parties without appropriate acknowledgement or permission
Descriptions of AI processes used should include at minimum the version of the tool/algorithm used, where it can be accessed, any proprietary information relevant to the use of the tool/algorithm, any modifications of the tool made by the researchers (such as the addition of data to a tool’s public corpus), and the date(s) it was used for the purpose(s) described. Any relevant competing interests or potential bias arising as a consequence of the tool/algorithm’s use should be transparently declared and may be discussed in the article.