Professor Robert Ash has been a faithful servant of Chinese studies in the UK for many years. He has built upon Ken Walker's pioneering work on Chinese agriculture, and there are few (if any) scholars who are as well-versed in the issues and the complexities of the Chinese agricultural data as Bob. Few have done as much to promote the development of academic links between the UK and continental Europe dedicated to promoting the study of contemporary China. He has played an instrumental role in sustaining and promoting the study of Taiwan, and for many years was the compiler of The China Quarterly's “Chronicle and Documentation” of events in China. And countless students at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) have benefitted from his wisdom and breadth of knowledge.
It is therefore wholly right that there should be a Festschrift dedicated to Bob's lifetime of scholarship on China, and this book – admirably edited by David Shambaugh – is just that. The book's most appealing characteristic, and it is one that captures the breadth of Bob's scholarly interests, lies in the range of topics covered. These cover the whole gamut of politics, political economy and international relations, ranging from China's relations with Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao, and the future of the Chinese Communist Party itself to the vexed issue of Sino-US relations. Many of the contributors are leaders in their respective fields – any volume which boasts Peter Nolan, Rachel Murphy, Ramon Myers, Pitman Potter, Michael Yahuda and Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard amongst its contributors is worth having on one's shelf.
Admittedly the papers are relatively brief. This is inevitable when 16 papers have to fit into a slim volume, but it does limit what can usefully be said about some very big issues. Nevertheless, the papers are thoughtful and contemplative, and convey a real sense of the challenges that China faces in interacting with the global community. The volume is especially strong in terms of its coverage of international linkages, both political and economic. David Shambaugh looks at the security dimension, offer a rather bleak assessment of a realist China reluctant to accept international norms for great power behaviour. Michael Yahuda offers a lucid summary of China's evolving relationship with the Koreas and with Japan. Anne Booth provides an excellent summary of China's growing engagement with the ASEAN countries, as well as a discussion of China's (uncertain) motivation in entering into these free trade relations. There also two chapters on the China–Taiwan connection, and Ramon Myers's discussion – which looks at both economic and political issues – is perhaps the best chapter in the book. Nor are Hong Kong and Macau neglected, the two being as they are the focus of separate chapters by Brian Hook and Rick Edmonds respectively.
In one respect, however, the Festschrift is premature. Although Bob Ash has reduced some of his teaching commitments, he is very far from putting down his pen. Indeed 2011 has seen him embark upon a new challenge, that of re-invigorating the study of China by reviving the Contemporary China Institute at SOAS. I am delighted that his enthusiasm remains undimmed, and both SOAS and Chinese studies in the UK will be all the better for it.
