China is living through interesting times right now, to borrow an apocryphal idiom. After almost three years of draconian zero-Covid policies, we have witnessed the first cross-city street protests against central government policy since Tiananmen in 1989, followed by a sudden lifting of restrictions, and now the inevitable wave of Covid infections. Books dance to a slower beat than the news cycle, but they do provide deeper context to help answer the critical question: how did we get to where we are?
That’s why at the top of our list this month is an assured history of the post-Mao years up until the start of the Xi era, which argues that lack of political reform was a defining feature of this period of major economic reform. Another book, published on the same day, posits that the roots of market reform were infected with Maoist illiberalism to begin with. Also on the roster: more on Sino-U.S. clashes, media and information campaigns, and a sprinkling of ancient myth to remind us there is more to China than just PRC policy.
The One to Read
China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower by Frank Dikötter
After his magisterial ‘People’s Trilogy’ on the Mao era (Mao’s Great Famine, The Tragedy of Liberation, The Cultural Revolution), the Dutch historian Frank Dikötter has come out with a sequel, following the “bitter back-stabbing and fighting for power among endlessly changing factions” after Mao’s death in 1976. It has been a long road since that period, when China faced a collapsing economy and civil infrastructure gutted by the Cultural Revolution, to the ascendency of Xi Jinping in 2012 and his “rejuvenation of the great Chinese nation.” This is the road along which Dikötter walks us, through the leaderships of Hua Guofeng, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao up to Xi. There is plenty of ground-level detail, and a long caesura in the middle to consider the origins and impacts of the 1989 protests and crackdown. The common thread is a rejoinder that in this supposed reform era, leaders clung steadfastly to Marxist socialism, and “without political reform, market reform cannot exist.”
November 15, 2022 | Bloomsbury Publishing. $27.49. | Buy.
The Shortlist
Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise by Christopher Marquis and Kunyuan Qiao
‘State capitalism’ or ‘Leninist capitalism’ are oft-used monikers for China’s unique model. Yet the assumption that open markets would lead to political opening has largely been abandoned, some forty years later. Marquis and Qiao put the nail in its coffin in this thoroughly researched and compellingly argued academic book, showing how the foundations of China’s freer markets were built upon – not in spite of – Maoism. Taking in socialist ideology, institutions and mass campaigns, they demonstrate that the enterprise and commercialism of China’s ‘economic miracle’ has remained in step with Maoist thought, and square the circle of how a seemingly capitalist country could still be run by a communist Party.
November 15, 2022 | Yale University Press. $30.00. | Buy.
Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives by Stephen Roach
There have been various conflicts between America and China over the last five years: trade, tech, diplomatic, political, and the ever-looming presence of a potential military clash. To these, economist Stephen Roach adds a conflict of narratives, wherein each side blames the other for their own weaknesses. Taking in the trade war, Huawei’s blacklisting, and both Trump’s and Biden’s China policies, Roach dispassionately diagnoses the state of the American and Chinese economies, arguing that this narrative of mutual censure is only damaging both sides, while not necessarily being grounded in economic reality. A splash of cold water on hot tempers in the DC and Beijing beltways, and yet another book warning against escalation.
November 29, 2022 | Yale University Press. $26.79. | Buy.
Beijing’s Global Media Offensive: China’s Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World by Joshua Kurlantzick
‘Non-interference’ has long been a watchword of the Chinese state, largely due to their own painful history at the hands of interfering foreign powers. Yet when it comes to information and influence operations abroad, both overt and covert, Beijing today is one of the worst meddlers. This excellent survey narrates China’s extensive attempts to become a media superpower, from expanding state media (and social media) reach overseas to influence on local media abroad, and from content-sharing deals to outright purchases of foreign media companies. With a focus on Asia, but also taking in the global west and global south, Kurlantzick also demonstrates where this bid for soft power falls flat. A sage and readable summary of an overlooked aspect of the China story.
December 1, 2022 | Oxford University Press. $29.95. | Buy.
Seeking Truth and Hiding Facts: Information, Ideology, and Authoritarianism in China by Jeremy L. Wallace
Prize for the cleverest title goes to this book, adapting the old proverb adopted by Mao and then Deng, “Seek truth from facts.” Yet reliable facts – specifically statistics – are hard to come by in China, and the state’s attempts to quantify its growth and other targets goes hand-in-glove with its broader approach to information architecture. This is the story that Wallace tells in this readable academic work, describing what he terms the government’s “limited, quantified vision” of its benchmarks of progress, and relating how infected those facts and numbers were by ideology – before showing how Xi Jinping has used these tools in order to build his own authoritarian legitimacy.
November 8, 2022 | Oxford University Press. $29.95. | Buy.
The Chinese Myths: A Guide to the Gods and Legends by Tao Tao Liu
Your humble columnist occasionally gets burn-out from reading the endless stream of policy and politics books on modern China. So it is always a refreshing break to see a new book come out on older Chinese culture. This is a mellifluous read that retreads familiar ground, but does an excellent job at introducing Chinese mythology and religion – especially in connecting myths and beliefs to how they are incorporated in the living contexts of religion and culture. From Guanyin to Guandi, by way of the Daoists, Confucians, and various spirits and ancient heroes, Liu walks us through the panoply and pantheon in entertaining fashion, offering a wider picture of Chinese culture than contemporary headlines.
December 6, 2022 | Thames & Hudson. $25.95. | Buy.
In Case You Missed It
China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know by Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom and Maura Elizabeth Cunningham
From those entering the learning curve to the so-called experts, everyone needs a primer, or a reference book, that is quick and easy to read. This slim volume’s intuitive question-and-answer structure and chronological framework make it the perfect candidate. Simple and common queries (“How did Qing rule finally end?”; “Who are the Feminist Five?”; “Is China likely to become a democracy?”) are given clear and thorough answers, from ancient philosophy all the way up to China’s high tech boom and environmental fallout. Recently updated in a third edition — but still pre-Covid — it’s perfect for the plane ride over (or quarantine on landing).
(3rd Edition) April 9, 2019 | Oxford University Press. $16.95. | Buy.
Alec Ash is the books editor for The Wire. He is the author of Wish Lanterns. His work has also appeared in The Economist, BBC, SupChina, and Foreign Policy. @alecash
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