Böcker av Joshua A. Fogel

The Talmud comprises a massive collection of rabbinical debates from late antiquity. This volume explicates one tractate within it, Nazir, concerned with self-imposed abstentions: no wine or product of the grapevine, no cutting of bodily hair, and no contact with a human corpse.

The Whole Megilla tracks tractate Megilla of the Babylonia Talmud page by page, offering an close reading and exegesis of the text. It makes this difficult work comprehensible.

Investigates Japan's impact on Chinese art from the mid-nineteenth century through the 1930s. In this book, essays address a range of perspectives, including the work of individual Chinese and Japanese painters, calligraphers, and sculptors, as well as artistic associations, international exhibitions, and the emergence of a modern canon.

Chinese Studies in History contains unabridged translations of Chinese sources, primarily scholarly journals and collections of articles published in book form. The aim of the journal is to present the more important Chinese studies in this field in the light of the interest of those who are professionally concerned with it.

After centuries of virtual isolation, during which time international sea travel was forbidden outside of Japan's immediate fishing shores, Japanese shogunal authorities in 1862 made the unprecedented decision to launch an official delegation to China by sea. Concerned by the fast-changing global environment, they had witnessed the ever-increasing number of incursions into Asia by European powers-not the least of which was Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan in 1853-54 and the forced opening of a handful of Japanese ports at the end of the decade. The Japanese reasoned that it was only a matter of time before they too encountered the same unfortunate fate as China; their hope was to learn from the Chinese experience and to keep foreign powers at bay. They dispatched the Senzaimaru to Shanghai with the purpose of investigating contemporary conditions of trade and diplomacy in the international city. Japanese from varied domains, as well as shogunal officials, Nagasaki merchants, and an assortment of deck hands, made the voyage along with a British crew, spending a total of ten weeks observing and interacting with the Chinese and with a handful of Westerners. Roughly a dozen Japanese narratives of the voyage were produced at the time, recounting personal impressions and experiences in Shanghai. The Japanese emissaries had the distinct advantage of being able to communicate with their Chinese hosts by means of the "e;brush conversation"e; (written exchanges in literary Chinese). For their part, the Chinese authorities also created a paper trail of reports and memorials concerning the Japanese visitors, which worked its way up and down the bureaucratic chain of command. This was the first official meeting of Chinese and Japanese in several centuries. Although the Chinese authorities agreed to few of the Japanese requests for trade relations and a consulate, nine years later China and Japan would sign the first bilateral treaty of amity in their history, a completely equal treaty. East Asia-and the diplomatic and trade relations between the region's two major players in the modern era-would never be the same.

This volume looks at tractate Zevachim (Sacrifices), which is mostly concerned with meat offerings slaughtered and presented at the Temple (when it stood). Fogel approaches the text, page by page, commenting with doses of humor and comparisons in a manner meant to explain and humanize the text for contemporary readers.

This volume looks at tractate Menachot, which is concerned mostly with grain offered at the Temple (when it stood) to atone for various misdeeds. Fogel approaches the text, page by page, commenting with doses of humor and comparisons in a manner meant to explain the text for contemporary readers.

This volume looks at Avodah Zarah, a tractate of the Talmud concerning idolatry, page by page. Daily Reflections on Idolatry offers a modern commentary with doses of humor and comparative examples in an effort to both explain and humanize the text and make it even more accessible to contemporary readers.

While much attention has been focused on the rise of the modern Chinese nation, little or none has been directed at the emergence of "citizenry". This book examines thinkers from the period 1890-1920 in modern China, and shows how China might forge a modern society with a political citizenry.

Presents the perceptions that the Chinese and the Japanese have of each other, and the information that helped to fuel those perceptions. There are two sections: "China in Japan", debating the Asiatic Mode of Production and "kyodotai"; and "Japan in China", covering the Manchurian Railway.

Fogel explores the tractate Horayot (Decisions), page by page, and offers a modern commentary with doses of humor and comparative examples. The central focus concerns how to adjudicate cases when the governing body, the Sanhedrin, incorrectly designates certain practices legal and people follow the erroneous advice as a result.

Joshua Fogel offers an incisive historical look at Sino-Japanese relations from three different perspectives. Introducing the concept of "Sinosphere" to capture the nature of Sino-foreign relations both spatially and temporally, Fogel presents an original and thought-provoking study on the long, complex relationship between China and Japan.