Orville Schell

This is an enlightening and engrossing book, focussed on key issues. In the past, why was it so hard for China to come to terms with modernity? In the present, why has acceptance finally come, under a post-Communist Communist leadership? And for the future, where will the ideas behind China's rise lead China -- and the rest of us? It is a book about this history of ideas and culture over the past few centuries, not a political history, but it casts a lot of light on past and present show more political developments.

Mssrs. Schell and Delury examine the process of intellectual and ideological evolution by looking at the lives and thoughts of eleven Chinese political figures, from Wei Yuan (who called for reform in the early 19th century), through Chiang and Mao, up to Deng and Zhu Rongi. In the process, they remind the reader of what happened as a weakening China was exposed to a rising West, and of the grim political history of the past hundred years.

They arrive at two key points, I think. First, China's long period of weakness vs. the West (and Japan) left a burning sense of shame and of resentment, which could only be assuaged by besting the West at its own game. This has produced a powerful nationalism which seems deeply imbued with anti-foreign feeling as a defining element in what it is to be Chinese. Second, the authors seem to me to argue that the only way that China could truly advance into the modern world was to break with traditional Chinese culture, and the only way of achieving that breakage was though massive destruction. That, I think, is what they mean when they attribute "creative destruction" to Mao -- a term of description, not approval.

In any event, I have read a lot about China over the years, and this is one of the best -- and most enlightening -- books that I have read on the topic. Moreover, it is enjoyable to read! show less

So interesting, engaging, and informative. I learned more about modern Chinese history than from any textbook. Little Li is the son of a Chinese man and an American woman who was the daughter of missionaries. The father is an accomplished pianist and a scholar of JS Bach. When the Cultural Revolution begins, Li is a young boy whose mother has left for America. His father naively believes that the rising tide against the educated (the elites) will not get worse, but he is soon "sent down." Li show more is left pretty much in the care of an old woman in their hutong and he and his friend roam the streets and become enamored by the young Red Guards. Li also loves music especially his flute. Soon, he too, is "sent down" and winds up in a remote province of China where he is sent to make gravel. Here he also encounters the Goluks, a native nomad tribe with no understanding of Mao and the Communist system. Li is about as far from his home as he can be but yearns to return to music and to go to the United States.

After the Cultural Revolution and with the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, Li is able to return to Bejing only to find much destruction but his father has returned but in extremely poor condition. Li cares for his father as much as he can and meets Hong, a young woman at the music school. He has a relationship with her, but always is thinking about going to America which he soon does.

When he gets to America, he has no money and is only goal is to get into a music school. He takes a job as a janitor at a fitness gym where he meets Juliette, a beautiful, but totally free spirit sexually. They move in together, but it is a purely sexual experience. He later meets a young musician named Lisa who falls desperately in love with Li. (Juliette and Lisa could be described as symbols of what is shallow and what is good about American). Now Li finds himself yearning to return home which he does. He looks up his childhood friend who is deeply involved in the resistance movement. He also finds Hong only to discover that she has had his child.

The book ends with the revolution at Tinnamon Square. This is a beautifully written book (in spite of all the Chinese letters that are interspersed through the narrative. It's long, believable, and memorable. Does an excellent job of showing the many different complications of life in China. show less

Wealth and Power (2013) is an interesting, informative and sympathetic outline of the evolution of China over the last 175 years. It sketches the political lives of a number of Chinese leaders, politicians and influential political theorists. It required several massive and merciless upheavals and bold experimentation for China to overcome many centuries of ingrained feudal culture and lift China out of poverty and a dogged xenophobia to generate the wealth and power required to resist the show more foreign imperialism which had diminished its treasury and self-respect beginning with the Opium Wars in the middle of the 19th century.

Some of the most respected writers throughout this period argued that it is in the best interests of the people of China, once it had become wealthy and powerful, as it is today, to become democratic. Several of these brave voices died in prison, including Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2010 but died in a Chinese prison in 2017.

This book is easy to read. The reader may sympathize with the millions of suffering Chinese over this interesting* period and the 1.4 billion of today, except for the near-Orwellian** faux-Communist entrenched wealthy cabal currently hoarding power to the detriment of the country and thus of 18% of mankind.

* An old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.

** www.nytimes.com/2018/02/03/opinion/sunday/china-surveillance-state-uighurs.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region show less

It’s mildly sad that the signing of the Unequal Treaties at the end of the First Opium War in 1842 signaled China’s entrance into the modern era. China’s cultural heritage had been one of self-sufficiency, technological innovation, and dynastic coherence. Rebellion after rebellion ended the 365-year rule of the Qing dynasty. After that the fledgling Republic of China struggled to become the power it once was, at least in the eyes of the West. Oliver Schell’s and John Delury Wealth show more and Power trace the cultural, political, and social history of China through the last two centuries to show how the nation has come to the stature it has today.

The author’s interesting strategy for chronicling the expansive history of China is through the eyes of various scholars, generals, and political leaders. They start with government secretary and scholar Wei Yuan, who identified China’s interactions with the West as a threat and wrote extensively on the Opium Wars. Then Feng Guifen argues for synthesizing Confucianism with Western industrialization ideals in the late 19th century. After the fall of the Qing and the death of the Empress Dowager Cixi, there are predictable forays into the ideals of General Chiang Kai-shek (leader of China through World War II), Mao Zedong (communist revolutionary), and Deng Xiaoping, who tried to move the country towards a more moderate market economy. The history ends with the human rights activism of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Liu Xiaobo.

There is almost no way to write a short history of any part of China’s history. The philosophical and political schools and the traditions which inform them are myriad. Sufficed to say, this book does a very good job of balancing Eastern and Western perspectives. If you’re looking for a crash course in modern Chinese history, then this one is a good place to start. The organization is pretty decent, and the flow optimal. All in all, a very good book. show less