China & ANU-Diplomats, Adventurers, Scholars

Abstract

The Pacific War and its aftermath radically transformed Australian perceptions of what was then called the �Near North�. Many recognised that in the postwar world Australia�s strategic interests and economic fortunes called for a new understanding of Asia and the Pacific. China loomed large in these calculations.

Based on extensive research and featuring rare archival documents and photographs, China & ANU introduces the diplomats, adventurers and scholars who contributed to Australia�s engagement with China, the �Chinese Commonwealth� and our region from the 1940s-1950s. In particular, this book focusses on the interconnection between Australia�s first diplomat-scholars in China and the founding of Chinese Studies at the newly established Australian National University.