jonathan spence the search for modern china

The Search for Modern China has since become one of the premiere primers in modern Chinese history. It is the first one that I ever pre-ordered. This was the first history book that I ever eagerly looked forward to being published. Jonathan Spence was my favorite author when I majored in Chinese History 30 years ago. There would be no truly modern China, until the people were given back their voices. This last sentence in the book perhaps delivers a sobering statement: I like the way the author humanizes chronicles by invoking the works of writers, artists, activists and politicians to illustrate a point. But the country continued to suffer atrocious political upheavals, often incited in the name of dogmatic ideology. After the 1945 Japanese surrender, the Communists drove the Nationalists off to Taiwan and established the People's Republic of China. Against such backdrop and in face of 20th century Japanese (and European & Russian) aggression on Chinese soil surged civil wars between the Nationalists and the Communists. Juxtaposed with such account is a sweeping depiction of China's own encompassing domestic woes, including but not limited to the Qing government's incompetent rule, abject rural poverty, backwardness of society, ceaseless rebellions and warlords' power struggles. Included in it is an honest and neutral account of how 19th century Western imperialism and the imposition on China of opium trade, extraterritoriality and exorbitant financial penalties irreversibly debilitated the country.

This well-written and excellent piece of academic work is a concise and comprehensive history of China spanning 3-1/2 centuries from the end of the Ming Dynasty (1644) right through to the June 4th 1989 Tiananmen Square tragedy. This is a must-read for anyone who wishes to make sense of present-day international relations.

Jonathan spence the search for modern china