China without Mao

the long version

Now available in an up-to-date edition, this groundbreaking book on post-Mao China, written by the distinguished Asian scholar Immanuel C.Y. Hsu, explores the astonishing transformation that has occurred there. Since Mao Zedong's death in 1976, China's leaders have launched an ambitious modernization program aimed at making their nation a relatively prosperous socialist state by the year 2000. Along with the first edition's examination of the smashing of the Gang of Four, the evolution of a new order under Deng Xiaoping, the manner and costs of modernization, and the prospects for reunification with Taiwan, the second edition offers an insider's view into China's policies of accelerated economic development and opening to the outside world, adopted at a December 1978 party conference. Focusing on the cultural impact of these policies, Hsu candidly reveals both the improved standard of living and the serious fundamental problems - including high inflation, widespread corruption, crises in leadership, loss of faith in communism, and especially the recent student protests - resulting from these recent developments. Including a postscript on the June 1989 massacre at Tian-an-men Square, this extremely timely volume will serve as an essential guide for anyone seeking insights into the highly volatile state of affairs in China today.