China and the world since 1949: The impact of independence, modernity and revolution (The Making of the 20th century)

This is the first history of post-1949 China which brings into juxtaposition the themes of independence, modernity and revolution. New China's international relations are governed by its determination to achieve both the fullest possible degree of independence and also the highest level of modernization ít can afford, in ways that will not come into conflict with its Maoist version of a global Marxist-Leninist revolution. The author examines major changes in China since 1949 and up to the death of Mao Tse-tung in 1976, paying special attention to three central themes: the desire to assert independence; the problems of modernity; and the determination to make revolution. These themes are crucial to understanding China's role in the world in the latter half of the twentieth century. Analysis of the main issues is made within the framework of a concise historical survey which explains them with the basic data available. The author examines the conditions that determine the nature and quality of change in China, thL- conflicts between ideas and actions that have propelled the country to rapid change, and the indigenous traditional as well as the externally determined factors that have inhibited the speed and range of change. Concluding that China is now fully involved in the world, and is committed to the long and complex effort of helping to shape a world that it can easily live with, the author believes that there is nothing mysterious about the Chinese revolution and that, indeed, its driving spirit is wholly rational.