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Modern China

Continuity and Change, 1644 to the Present, Second Edition

Bruce A. Elleman and S. C. M. Paine

Now in a fully updated edition, this accessible text provides a balanced history of modern China in a global context. Through years of living and research in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Russia, the authors are deeply qualified to understand China’s internal dynamics as well as its foreign relations over centuries. Arguing that modern Chinese history cannot be understood without a deep appreciation of the outside factors that have influenced the country, the authors focus on China’s near neighbors, especially Japan and Russia. They also emphasize the tragic role of almost endless warfare throughout Chinese history. Providing a unique comparative approach, the authors bridge the cultural divide separating Chinese history from Western readers trying to understand it. Specifically geared to the teaching requirements of the semester system, the book is divided into four parts and a total of twenty-eight chapters, corresponding either to two chapters per week in a fourteen-week semester or one chapter per week in a two-semester course.
  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Features
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 656 • Trim: 7⅜ x 10½
978-1-5381-0385-2 • Hardback • February 2019 • $170.00 • (£131.00)
978-1-5381-0386-9 • Paperback • February 2019 • $84.00 • (£65.00)
978-1-5381-0387-6 • eBook • February 2019 • $79.50 • (£61.00)
Subjects: History / Asia / China, History / Modern / General
Courses: Political Science; Comparative Politics; Government & Politics; Asia, History; Asia; China, International & Area Studies; Asian Studies; China; History, International & Area Studies; Asian Studies; China; Politics

Bruce A. Elleman is William V. Pratt Professor of International History, U.S. Naval War College. He is the author of many books, including Diplomacy and Deception: The Secret History of Sino-Soviet Diplomatic Relations, 1917–1927; Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795–1989; Wilson and China: A Revised History of the Shandong Question; Moscow and the Emergence of Communist Power in China, 1925–30: The Nanchang Uprising and the Birth of the Red Army; High Sea’s Buffer: The Taiwan Patrol Force, 1950–1979; Taiwan Straits: Crisis in Asia and the Role of the U.S. Navy; International Competition in China, 1899–1991: The Rise, Fall, and Restoration of the Open Door Policy; and China’s Naval Operations in the South China Sea: Evaluating Legal, Strategic and Military Factors.

S. C. M. Paine is William S. Sims Professor of History and Grand Strategy in the Strategy and Policy Department, U.S. Naval War College. She is the author of Imperial Rivals: China, Russia and TheirDisputed Frontiers, winner of the Jelavich Book Prize; The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power and Primacy; The Wars for Asia, 1911-1949, winner of the Leopold Prize + PROSE Award for European & World History; and The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War.

List of Maps

List of Features

List of Tables

List of Figures

List of Photographs

Preface

Acknowledgments

Technical Note

Introduction: A Cultural Framework for Understanding China
Top-Down Characteristics: Confucianism, Militarism, Legalism, and Sinification
Radial Characteristics: Sinocentrism, Barbarian Management, and the Provincial System
Bottom-Up Characteristics: Daoism, Buddhism, and Poetry
Cyclical Elements:
Yin and Yang, the Dynastic Cycle, and Historical Continuity
Retrospective Elements: Fate and the Sources of Knowledge
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

PART I: THE CREATION AND MATURATION OF AN EMPIRE, 1644–1842

1 The Creation of the Qing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty
The Qing Conquest of Ming China: Nurgaci and His Successors
Grafting the Manchus onto Han China under the Shunzhi Emperor
Territorial Consolidation under the Kangxi Emperor
Institutional Consolidation under the Yongzheng Emperor
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

2 The Maximization of Empire under the Qianlong Emperor
The Conquest of the Zunghar Mongols
The Conquest of the Tarim Basin and Tibet
Qing Imperial Administration: The Tributary System
Domestic Administration: Central and Local Government
The Economy of an Empire: Agriculture, Commerce, and Taxation
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

3 Chinese Society at the Zenith of the Qing Dynasty
Manchu and Han Society
The Four Social Groups: Scholars, Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants
The Legal System
Confucianism as an Ideology
Shamanism, Confucianism, and Buddhism as Instruments of Manchu Rule
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

4 The Foundations of Knowledge
Fidelity to the Past
The Confucian Classics
Thinking by Historical Analogy
Understanding the Natural World
The Examination System
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

5 The Arrival of the West
Early Explorers
The Maritime Advance: Portugal, Spain, Holland, and England
The Continental Advance: Russia
The Legal and Religious Sources of Cultural Conflict
The Technological Revolution
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

6 Systemic Crisis and Dynastic Decline
Government Corruption and Manchu Decadence
Population Growth, Ethnic Tensions, and the Miao Revolt
The White Lotus Rebellion and the Eight Trigrams Revolt
Imperial Overextension
Qing Attempts to Restore Governmental Efficacy
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

7 Expanding Commercial Relations with the West
The Tea Trade and the Silver Inflow
The Opium Trade and the Silver Outflow
The British Rejection of Sinification
Chinese Strategy and the First Opium War
The Treaty of Nanjing: Treaty Ports, Tariffs, and North-South Tensions
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

PART II: DYNASTIC DECLINE AND COLLAPSE, 1842–1911

8 Civil War and Foreign Intervention
North-South Tensions and the Origins of the Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Movement
The Taiping Capital in Nanjing
The Arrow War
Manchu-Western Cooperation to Destroy the Taipings
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

9 Quelling Domestic Rebellions
The Rise of the Empress Dowager Cixi
The Nian Rebellion (1851–68)
The Panthay Rebellion (1855–73)
The Donggan Rebellion (1862–73)
The Muslim Rebellion in Xinjiang (1862–78)
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

10 The Self-Strengthening Movement and Central Government Reforms
Military Reform: Xiang and Huai Armies, Beiyang and Nanyang Navies
Financial Reform: The Imperial Maritime Customs Service
Foreign Policy Reform: The Zongli Yamen
Educational Reform: China’s First Embassy and Western Learning
Governmental Restoration: Confucian Rectification
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

11 Attacks on Chinese Sovereignty
The Burlingame Mission and the Alcock Convention
The Tianjin Massacre (1870) and the Margary Affair (1875)
Japan and Taiwan (1871–74)
Russia and Xinjiang (1871–81)
France and Vietnam (1883–85)
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

12 The First Sino-Japanese War
The Korean Crisis
The Hostilities
The Settlement
The Triple Intervention
The Scramble for Concessions
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

13 The Attempt to Expel the Foreigners: The Boxer Uprising
The Hundred Days’ Reform
The Origins of the Boxer Movement
The Boxer Uprising
The Boxer Protocol and the Economic Impact of the Indemnities
The Aftermath: The Russo-Japanese War (1904–5)
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

14 The 1911 Revolution
The Reform Program of the Empress Dowager Cixi
Han Revolutionaries: Sun Yat-sen’s Anti-Manchu Movement
The Rights Recovery Movement
The New Army and the Wuchang Rebellion
The Collapse of the Qing Dynasty
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

PART III: THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD, 1912–49

15 The Founding of the Republic of China
The Republic under Yuan Shikai
Relations with Russia, Japan, and Britain
The Founding of the Nationalist Party
North China Warlord Intrigues
The Republic of China Enters the First World War
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

16 Versailles and Its Aftermath
Political Ferment and New Ideas
The Paris Peace Conference Examines the Shandong Question
The Shandong Controversy
The Beijing Government’s Reaction to the Compromise
The Long-Term Impact of the Treaty of Versailles
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

17 New Intellectual Currents
The New Culture Movement
The May Fourth Movement
The Karakhan Manifesto and the Comintern
The Founding of the Chinese Communist Party
The Civil Wars in North China
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

18 The Nationalist-Communist United Front
South China Diplomacy: The Origins of the First United Front
The Reorganization of the Nationalist Party
North China Diplomacy: Beijing and Manchurian Warlords
The Rise of Chiang Kai-shek and the Northern Expedition
The Beginning of the Nationalist-Communist Civil War
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

19 The Nanjing Decade
Elimination of the Unequal Treaties with the Western Powers
The Russo-Japanese Rivalry over Manchuria
The Military Side of Nation Building: Uprisings and Encirclement Campaigns
The Civil Side of Nation Building: Nationalist and Communist Ideology
The Xi’an Incident and the Second United Front
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

20 The Second Sino-Japanese War
Great Power Rivalries over China
The Regional War and the Civil War
The Global War
Soviet Efforts to Expand Their Sphere of Influence
Impact on the Chinese Population
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

21 The Civil War: Nationalists versus Communists
Renewal of the Civil War
U.S. Diplomatic Intervention
Soviet Intervention
The Nationalist Economic Implosion
The Communist Victory
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

PART IV: CHINA AND TAIWAN IN THE POSTWAR ERA

22 The Communist Victory
The Formation of the People’s Republic of China
Land Reform and Agrarian Policies
The Nationalization of Industry and Commerce
Diplomatic Isolation and the Sino-Soviet Alliance
Land Reform on Taiwan
Conclusions
Note
Bibliography

23 The Korean War
The Outbreak of the Korean War
The Chinese Decision to Intervene
The Soviet War Protraction Strategy
War Termination
The Domestic Consequences of the War
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

24 Mao’s Quest for World Leadership
The Hundred Flowers Campaign
The Great Leap Forward
The Great Famine (1958–62)
The Sino-Soviet Split
The Sino-Indian War of 1962
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

25 The Cultural Revolution
Mao’s Weakened Position
The Phases of the Cultural Revolution
The PLA and the Restoration of Order
The 1969 Sino-Soviet Border Conflict
Sino-American Rapprochement
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

26 The Deng Xiaoping Restoration
The Impending Succession, the Fall of Lin Biao, and the Death of Mao
The Rise to Power of Deng Xiaoping
The Taiwanese Economic Miracle
Deng Xiaoping’s Agricultural Reforms
Deng Xiaoping’s Industrial Reforms
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

27 From Tiananmen to Xi Jinping
The Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Tiananmen Demonstrations and Massacre
Governance without a Preeminent Leader
Rising Nationalism
Xi Jinping Leader for Life
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

28 The Mandate of Heaven
Population and Prosperity
Environmental Challenges
Energy and Industrial Growth
Democracy in Taiwan
The Two-China Problem
Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography

Conclusion: China in Transition
Top-Down Characteristics: Civil-Military-Ideological Underpinnings of Power
Radial Characteristics: Relations with the Outside
Bottom-Up Characteristics: Education, Globalization, and Han Nationalism
Cyclical Elements: The End of the Dynastic Cycle?
Retrospective Elements: Fatalism or Choice?
Final Words
Notes
Bibliography

Appendix A: Geographical Names by Transliteration System

Appendix B:
Pinyin–Wade-Giles Conversion Table

Teaching References



General


Historical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias



Biographical Information

Supplemental Readings

Movies

Websites

Photo Credits

Name Index

Subject Index


About the Authors

This textbook, by two outstanding scholars of China, presents an authoritative overview of Chinese history from 1644, the beginning of China's last dynasty, until the present day. The authors' knowledge of China's neighboring countries enables them to provide a sensitive introduction to the region’s culture. They combine a broad survey with a careful examination of important primary sources. The authors are known not only for their general historical sweep but also for their special knowledge as careful military historians.
— Ezra F. Vogel, Harvard University


This book is an excellent introduction to China’s modern history, from the beginning of the Qing dynasty in 1644 through today. Well written and admirably paced, it provides perspectives absent from other Chinese history textbooks as the authors focus on the centrality of warfare to China’s history, a topic not often treated with the attention it deserves. With a global perspective, it places the recent past and the twentieth century in a deeper context of dynastic power and imperial expansion.
— Tonio Andrade, Emory University


No other textbook synthesizes Western perspectives of Chinese political and comparative history as skillfully and as simply as Elleman and Paine have done. Highly readable and engaging, their narrative is filled with a veritable wealth of maps, timelines, photographs, and cultural highlights that add immense interest and clarity to complex subjects. Modern China is above all a student-friendly guide to understanding China’s position in the global arena today in light of its long and eventful history.
— Carol H. Shiue, University of Colorado Boulder


Modern China is a feat and a treat: it is a feat of decades of careful thinking and intense scholarship about the course of Chinese history, and it is a treat because of its clarity of presentation. This survey, meant for students with no prior knowledge of Chinese history, is unapologetically but sensibly comparative. Unlike most other surveys, it does not fall to the temptation to shirk detail; events are carefully contextualized, thus making it a valuable reference work for students and even specialists who need a refresher. It is unique in paying due regard to the Russian dimension. At a time when the need to know China's historical trajectory has never been greater, this is the perfect introduction.
— Hans van de Ven, University of Cambridge


In this updated edition of Modern China, Bruce Elleman and S. C. M. Paine have produced a serious book written in a breezy, almost conversational style. Focusing on the concept of ‘culture,’ aimed toward a general audience, and informed by an attunement to the historical importance of military affairs, this book will serve as a valuable reference for anyone interested in the broad patterns of modern Chinese history as well as many of its particulars.
— Richard J. Smith, Rice University


View a sample chapter HERE.

  • Thematic chronologies open each part and event chronologies end each chapter
  • Boxes in each chapter highlight social and economic topics
  • Dozens of maps and photos illustrate key events and individuals
  • Extensive tables present easily referenced factual information
  • Appendixes provide geographical names by transliteration system and a pinyin–Wade-Giles conversion table
  • Annotated teaching references include general works, encyclopedias, document collections, films, and literature


Modern China

Continuity and Change, 1644 to the Present, Second Edition

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • Now in a fully updated edition, this accessible text provides a balanced history of modern China in a global context. Through years of living and research in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Russia, the authors are deeply qualified to understand China’s internal dynamics as well as its foreign relations over centuries. Arguing that modern Chinese history cannot be understood without a deep appreciation of the outside factors that have influenced the country, the authors focus on China’s near neighbors, especially Japan and Russia. They also emphasize the tragic role of almost endless warfare throughout Chinese history. Providing a unique comparative approach, the authors bridge the cultural divide separating Chinese history from Western readers trying to understand it. Specifically geared to the teaching requirements of the semester system, the book is divided into four parts and a total of twenty-eight chapters, corresponding either to two chapters per week in a fourteen-week semester or one chapter per week in a two-semester course.
Details
Details
  • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
    Pages: 656 • Trim: 7⅜ x 10½
    978-1-5381-0385-2 • Hardback • February 2019 • $170.00 • (£131.00)
    978-1-5381-0386-9 • Paperback • February 2019 • $84.00 • (£65.00)
    978-1-5381-0387-6 • eBook • February 2019 • $79.50 • (£61.00)
    Subjects: History / Asia / China, History / Modern / General
    Courses: Political Science; Comparative Politics; Government & Politics; Asia, History; Asia; China, International & Area Studies; Asian Studies; China; History, International & Area Studies; Asian Studies; China; Politics
Author
Author
  • Bruce A. Elleman is William V. Pratt Professor of International History, U.S. Naval War College. He is the author of many books, including Diplomacy and Deception: The Secret History of Sino-Soviet Diplomatic Relations, 1917–1927; Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795–1989; Wilson and China: A Revised History of the Shandong Question; Moscow and the Emergence of Communist Power in China, 1925–30: The Nanchang Uprising and the Birth of the Red Army; High Sea’s Buffer: The Taiwan Patrol Force, 1950–1979; Taiwan Straits: Crisis in Asia and the Role of the U.S. Navy; International Competition in China, 1899–1991: The Rise, Fall, and Restoration of the Open Door Policy; and China’s Naval Operations in the South China Sea: Evaluating Legal, Strategic and Military Factors.

    S. C. M. Paine is William S. Sims Professor of History and Grand Strategy in the Strategy and Policy Department, U.S. Naval War College. She is the author of Imperial Rivals: China, Russia and TheirDisputed Frontiers, winner of the Jelavich Book Prize; The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power and Primacy; The Wars for Asia, 1911-1949, winner of the Leopold Prize + PROSE Award for European & World History; and The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • List of Maps

    List of Features

    List of Tables

    List of Figures

    List of Photographs

    Preface

    Acknowledgments

    Technical Note

    Introduction: A Cultural Framework for Understanding China
    Top-Down Characteristics: Confucianism, Militarism, Legalism, and Sinification
    Radial Characteristics: Sinocentrism, Barbarian Management, and the Provincial System
    Bottom-Up Characteristics: Daoism, Buddhism, and Poetry
    Cyclical Elements:
    Yin and Yang, the Dynastic Cycle, and Historical Continuity
    Retrospective Elements: Fate and the Sources of Knowledge
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    PART I: THE CREATION AND MATURATION OF AN EMPIRE, 1644–1842

    1 The Creation of the Qing Dynasty
    The Ming Dynasty
    The Qing Conquest of Ming China: Nurgaci and His Successors
    Grafting the Manchus onto Han China under the Shunzhi Emperor
    Territorial Consolidation under the Kangxi Emperor
    Institutional Consolidation under the Yongzheng Emperor
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    2 The Maximization of Empire under the Qianlong Emperor
    The Conquest of the Zunghar Mongols
    The Conquest of the Tarim Basin and Tibet
    Qing Imperial Administration: The Tributary System
    Domestic Administration: Central and Local Government
    The Economy of an Empire: Agriculture, Commerce, and Taxation
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    3 Chinese Society at the Zenith of the Qing Dynasty
    Manchu and Han Society
    The Four Social Groups: Scholars, Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants
    The Legal System
    Confucianism as an Ideology
    Shamanism, Confucianism, and Buddhism as Instruments of Manchu Rule
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    4 The Foundations of Knowledge
    Fidelity to the Past
    The Confucian Classics
    Thinking by Historical Analogy
    Understanding the Natural World
    The Examination System
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    5 The Arrival of the West
    Early Explorers
    The Maritime Advance: Portugal, Spain, Holland, and England
    The Continental Advance: Russia
    The Legal and Religious Sources of Cultural Conflict
    The Technological Revolution
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    6 Systemic Crisis and Dynastic Decline
    Government Corruption and Manchu Decadence
    Population Growth, Ethnic Tensions, and the Miao Revolt
    The White Lotus Rebellion and the Eight Trigrams Revolt
    Imperial Overextension
    Qing Attempts to Restore Governmental Efficacy
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    7 Expanding Commercial Relations with the West
    The Tea Trade and the Silver Inflow
    The Opium Trade and the Silver Outflow
    The British Rejection of Sinification
    Chinese Strategy and the First Opium War
    The Treaty of Nanjing: Treaty Ports, Tariffs, and North-South Tensions
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    PART II: DYNASTIC DECLINE AND COLLAPSE, 1842–1911

    8 Civil War and Foreign Intervention
    North-South Tensions and the Origins of the Taiping Rebellion
    The Taiping Movement
    The Taiping Capital in Nanjing
    The Arrow War
    Manchu-Western Cooperation to Destroy the Taipings
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    9 Quelling Domestic Rebellions
    The Rise of the Empress Dowager Cixi
    The Nian Rebellion (1851–68)
    The Panthay Rebellion (1855–73)
    The Donggan Rebellion (1862–73)
    The Muslim Rebellion in Xinjiang (1862–78)
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    10 The Self-Strengthening Movement and Central Government Reforms
    Military Reform: Xiang and Huai Armies, Beiyang and Nanyang Navies
    Financial Reform: The Imperial Maritime Customs Service
    Foreign Policy Reform: The Zongli Yamen
    Educational Reform: China’s First Embassy and Western Learning
    Governmental Restoration: Confucian Rectification
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    11 Attacks on Chinese Sovereignty
    The Burlingame Mission and the Alcock Convention
    The Tianjin Massacre (1870) and the Margary Affair (1875)
    Japan and Taiwan (1871–74)
    Russia and Xinjiang (1871–81)
    France and Vietnam (1883–85)
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    12 The First Sino-Japanese War
    The Korean Crisis
    The Hostilities
    The Settlement
    The Triple Intervention
    The Scramble for Concessions
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    13 The Attempt to Expel the Foreigners: The Boxer Uprising
    The Hundred Days’ Reform
    The Origins of the Boxer Movement
    The Boxer Uprising
    The Boxer Protocol and the Economic Impact of the Indemnities
    The Aftermath: The Russo-Japanese War (1904–5)
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    14 The 1911 Revolution
    The Reform Program of the Empress Dowager Cixi
    Han Revolutionaries: Sun Yat-sen’s Anti-Manchu Movement
    The Rights Recovery Movement
    The New Army and the Wuchang Rebellion
    The Collapse of the Qing Dynasty
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    PART III: THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD, 1912–49

    15 The Founding of the Republic of China
    The Republic under Yuan Shikai
    Relations with Russia, Japan, and Britain
    The Founding of the Nationalist Party
    North China Warlord Intrigues
    The Republic of China Enters the First World War
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    16 Versailles and Its Aftermath
    Political Ferment and New Ideas
    The Paris Peace Conference Examines the Shandong Question
    The Shandong Controversy
    The Beijing Government’s Reaction to the Compromise
    The Long-Term Impact of the Treaty of Versailles
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    17 New Intellectual Currents
    The New Culture Movement
    The May Fourth Movement
    The Karakhan Manifesto and the Comintern
    The Founding of the Chinese Communist Party
    The Civil Wars in North China
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    18 The Nationalist-Communist United Front
    South China Diplomacy: The Origins of the First United Front
    The Reorganization of the Nationalist Party
    North China Diplomacy: Beijing and Manchurian Warlords
    The Rise of Chiang Kai-shek and the Northern Expedition
    The Beginning of the Nationalist-Communist Civil War
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    19 The Nanjing Decade
    Elimination of the Unequal Treaties with the Western Powers
    The Russo-Japanese Rivalry over Manchuria
    The Military Side of Nation Building: Uprisings and Encirclement Campaigns
    The Civil Side of Nation Building: Nationalist and Communist Ideology
    The Xi’an Incident and the Second United Front
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    20 The Second Sino-Japanese War
    Great Power Rivalries over China
    The Regional War and the Civil War
    The Global War
    Soviet Efforts to Expand Their Sphere of Influence
    Impact on the Chinese Population
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    21 The Civil War: Nationalists versus Communists
    Renewal of the Civil War
    U.S. Diplomatic Intervention
    Soviet Intervention
    The Nationalist Economic Implosion
    The Communist Victory
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    PART IV: CHINA AND TAIWAN IN THE POSTWAR ERA

    22 The Communist Victory
    The Formation of the People’s Republic of China
    Land Reform and Agrarian Policies
    The Nationalization of Industry and Commerce
    Diplomatic Isolation and the Sino-Soviet Alliance
    Land Reform on Taiwan
    Conclusions
    Note
    Bibliography

    23 The Korean War
    The Outbreak of the Korean War
    The Chinese Decision to Intervene
    The Soviet War Protraction Strategy
    War Termination
    The Domestic Consequences of the War
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    24 Mao’s Quest for World Leadership
    The Hundred Flowers Campaign
    The Great Leap Forward
    The Great Famine (1958–62)
    The Sino-Soviet Split
    The Sino-Indian War of 1962
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    25 The Cultural Revolution
    Mao’s Weakened Position
    The Phases of the Cultural Revolution
    The PLA and the Restoration of Order
    The 1969 Sino-Soviet Border Conflict
    Sino-American Rapprochement
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    26 The Deng Xiaoping Restoration
    The Impending Succession, the Fall of Lin Biao, and the Death of Mao
    The Rise to Power of Deng Xiaoping
    The Taiwanese Economic Miracle
    Deng Xiaoping’s Agricultural Reforms
    Deng Xiaoping’s Industrial Reforms
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    27 From Tiananmen to Xi Jinping
    The Dissolution of the Soviet Union
    Tiananmen Demonstrations and Massacre
    Governance without a Preeminent Leader
    Rising Nationalism
    Xi Jinping Leader for Life
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    28 The Mandate of Heaven
    Population and Prosperity
    Environmental Challenges
    Energy and Industrial Growth
    Democracy in Taiwan
    The Two-China Problem
    Conclusions
    Notes
    Bibliography

    Conclusion: China in Transition
    Top-Down Characteristics: Civil-Military-Ideological Underpinnings of Power
    Radial Characteristics: Relations with the Outside
    Bottom-Up Characteristics: Education, Globalization, and Han Nationalism
    Cyclical Elements: The End of the Dynastic Cycle?
    Retrospective Elements: Fatalism or Choice?
    Final Words
    Notes
    Bibliography

    Appendix A: Geographical Names by Transliteration System

    Appendix B:
    Pinyin–Wade-Giles Conversion Table

    Teaching References



    General


    Historical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias



    Biographical Information

    Supplemental Readings

    Movies

    Websites

    Photo Credits

    Name Index

    Subject Index


    About the Authors

Reviews
Reviews
  • This textbook, by two outstanding scholars of China, presents an authoritative overview of Chinese history from 1644, the beginning of China's last dynasty, until the present day. The authors' knowledge of China's neighboring countries enables them to provide a sensitive introduction to the region’s culture. They combine a broad survey with a careful examination of important primary sources. The authors are known not only for their general historical sweep but also for their special knowledge as careful military historians.
    — Ezra F. Vogel, Harvard University


    This book is an excellent introduction to China’s modern history, from the beginning of the Qing dynasty in 1644 through today. Well written and admirably paced, it provides perspectives absent from other Chinese history textbooks as the authors focus on the centrality of warfare to China’s history, a topic not often treated with the attention it deserves. With a global perspective, it places the recent past and the twentieth century in a deeper context of dynastic power and imperial expansion.
    — Tonio Andrade, Emory University


    No other textbook synthesizes Western perspectives of Chinese political and comparative history as skillfully and as simply as Elleman and Paine have done. Highly readable and engaging, their narrative is filled with a veritable wealth of maps, timelines, photographs, and cultural highlights that add immense interest and clarity to complex subjects. Modern China is above all a student-friendly guide to understanding China’s position in the global arena today in light of its long and eventful history.
    — Carol H. Shiue, University of Colorado Boulder


    Modern China is a feat and a treat: it is a feat of decades of careful thinking and intense scholarship about the course of Chinese history, and it is a treat because of its clarity of presentation. This survey, meant for students with no prior knowledge of Chinese history, is unapologetically but sensibly comparative. Unlike most other surveys, it does not fall to the temptation to shirk detail; events are carefully contextualized, thus making it a valuable reference work for students and even specialists who need a refresher. It is unique in paying due regard to the Russian dimension. At a time when the need to know China's historical trajectory has never been greater, this is the perfect introduction.
    — Hans van de Ven, University of Cambridge


    In this updated edition of Modern China, Bruce Elleman and S. C. M. Paine have produced a serious book written in a breezy, almost conversational style. Focusing on the concept of ‘culture,’ aimed toward a general audience, and informed by an attunement to the historical importance of military affairs, this book will serve as a valuable reference for anyone interested in the broad patterns of modern Chinese history as well as many of its particulars.
    — Richard J. Smith, Rice University


Features
Features
  • View a sample chapter HERE.

    • Thematic chronologies open each part and event chronologies end each chapter
    • Boxes in each chapter highlight social and economic topics
    • Dozens of maps and photos illustrate key events and individuals
    • Extensive tables present easily referenced factual information
    • Appendixes provide geographical names by transliteration system and a pinyin–Wade-Giles conversion table
    • Annotated teaching references include general works, encyclopedias, document collections, films, and literature


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