- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
With a population of nearly 1.5 billion and the world's second largest economy, China is a major player in the world today, and yet many in the West know very little about contemporary China. This book provides a clear, authoritative and up-to-date history of China since 1949, drawing on extensive research to describe and explain the key developments and to dispel the many myths and misconceptions surrounding this twenty-first-century superpower.
In contrast to many commentators who overstate the novelty of the Communist regime, Guiheux emphasizes instead its complex political heritage, highlighting the many continuities it shares with the reformers and revolutionaries of the early twentieth century. At the same time, the ability of China's authoritarian regime to transform the economy and society is key to understanding its breakneck trajectory of modernization – an ability that, as Guiheux explains, far outweighed the importance and effectiveness of Mao's utopian vision. Guiheux also aims to 'de-exoticize' China. While not on the path of a Western-style modernity, China has experienced the same phenomena that have characterized every historical process of modernization: industrialization, urbanization, bureaucratization and globalization.
This expertly researched history of the People's Republic of China will be essential reading for all students and scholars of Chinese history and politics, and for anyone interested in contemporary China.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Establishment of a New Regime (1949–1957)
- 2 Maoism and Its Excesses (1958–1976)
- 3 Giving Priority to Economic Modernization (1976–1992)
- 4 Building a New Model (after 1992)
- 5 Forms of Government: From Arbitrary Rule to the Aborted Attempt at Institutionalization
- 6 The Creation of Wealth: From Planned Economy to the Market
- 7 Society on the Move: Mobility and Inequality
- 8 The Towns versus the Countryside
- 9 Populations: The Modernization of Society
- 10 Education and Culture
- Epilogue
- Illustrations
- Map: People’s Republic of China: Provinces and Regions
- Title-holders of the Main Positions in the Government of the People’s Republic of China (1949–2022)
- Chronology (1949–2022)
- Bibliography
- Index
- End User License Agreement