The Berkshire Encyclopedia of China is the first major reference on China that takes a truly 21st-century perspective. It is much more than a compilation of Western scholarship; drawing instead on the best of Chinese and global scholarship to present students and professionals with a comprehensive picture of China past, present, and future. It provides full, rich coverage of China drawn from the expert networks Berkshire has cultivated across the globe and within China (particularly in developing the best-selling, award-winning six-volume Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, published by Scribners in 2002 and still widely used and cited). The five-volume Berkshire Encyclopedia of China is a living creation, a body of knowledge to be accessed online as well as in print. Its broad thematic essays serve as anchor pieces for a work that ranges widely, covering every aspect of history, culture, politics, business, and much more, presented in an accessible and enlightening way to anyone who seeks an understanding of China including students, teachers, businesspeople, government officials, and tourists. In five large-format volumes and more than 1.5 million expert-written words, the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China provides unrivalled insight with entries that not only provide facts but are insightful, nuanced, and thought-provoking. The encyclopedia is designed to explain China from the Chinese point of view and provides other perspectives and interpretations. For example, how do other nations in East Asia perceive Chinese military expansion? As well as looking at the past, it poses questions about the future. Will the long history of limited expansion beyond its borders hold true in the 21st century? The interdisciplinary team of experts who wrote this encyclopedia includes historians, political scientists, sociologists, economists, anthropologists, geographers, scientists, artists, writers, journalists, educators, and other experts.