Reviews

Relying on research sources in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Ching, who teaches at the University of Toronto, goes beyond Western newspaper headlines to present a graphic, invaluable picture of mainland China today. Tiananmen Square, she writes, was only one of the sites in the bloody military crackdown of June 1989; troops injured or killed thousands of Beijing residents, and there have been some 120,000 arrests, with reports of torture. An expatriate who spent her formative years in China, Ching maintains that the dehumanization of the last four decades cannot be laid at the door of Confucius, whose teachings stressed benevolent government. She argues that Deng Xiaoping and his inner circle of octogenarians have alienated themselves from the Chinese people. Despite repression, old Buddhist and Taoist beliefs persist, she claims. Her superb account punctures the stereotype, still current among some China-watchers, that the Chinese people are somehow different from Westerners and not ready for democracy. (July)

YA-- By exploring China through its philosophies and politics, both traditional and Marxist, Ching attempts to come to terms with what has happened during last 40 years while reflecting upon a possible future. Some of the sources she quotes are mainland intellectuals who have been ``silenced,'' particularly those under arrest. There is an extensive bibliography of English and Asian language books and current newspapers and news magazines. Thorough endnotes that accompany each chapter add dimension to the book. Also included are a pronunciation guide, a timeline of China since 1949, and a chart clarifying the structure of the power in the People's Republic. The book opens with a review of the peaceful student demonstration in Tian'anmen Square and the brutal crackdown on the part of the Communist Party leaders. Ching's scholarly approach makes this book an excellent source for current events, trends in modern history, or comparative political systems. Her inquiry will make readers think and ponder not only China's soul but also its beliefs. --Dolores M. Steinhauer, Jefferson Sci-Tech,Alexandria, VA

In an attempt to understand the origins of the June 1989 massacre in China, Ching (East Asian studies and religious studies, Univ. of Toronto), presents a broad-ranging analysis of Chinese politics and of Chinese Communism in particular. She admits that she wrote this book out of moral outrage about the massacre, and that the book served as a kind of catharsis for her. Filled with moral pessimism and a concern for human rights, Ching bitterly condemns the regime of Deng Xiaoping as a mixture of Stalinism and Oriental despotism. Her best chapter is, not surprisingly, on religion in China, and it contains much interesting information. The rest, however, is rather unoriginal; that Chinese Communism is inhumane and antihumanist is true but not news. A secondary purchase.-- Steven I. Levine, Duke Univ., Durham, N.C.