This book uses the Pinyin transliteration system, with a few arbitrary exceptions. In the case of some well-known Chinese and geographical names, I have used established English spellings. Thus, I use Chiang Kaishek rather than Jiang Jieshi and the Yellow River rather than the Huanghe. I also refer to the Nationalists' political party as the KMT (Kuo-min-tang) rather than the GMD (Guomindang), as some now do. In the Notes, I follow the conventional format except that in referencing documents from published collections of primary sources I provide only a translated title. These titles are long and were added by the compilers of these collections. To omit a long Pinyin transliteration seemed justifiable to keep the Notes accessible to a non-specialist audience and saved considerable space. Translations of titles of Chinese books and articles in the Notes can be found in the bibliography.