Introduction; 1. The social background to the Civil War; 2. Ending one war, beginning another: August 1945–June 1946; 3. Turning points: July 1946–June 1947; 4. All-out war: July 1947–June 1948; 5. Nearing the end: July 1948–January 1949; 6. The end game: February to December, 1949; 7. The immediate outcome: the early 1950s; 8. Social outcomes of the Civil War; Conclusion; Index.
A new social history of China's Civil War, 1945–9, which brought dramatic political and social revolution to China.
Diana Lary is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She completed both her degree and PhD at the University of London. She has spent several years in China, the first time teaching English (1964–5) and later working as the resident sinologist in the Canadian Embassy in Beijing (1985–7). As a Professor in Canada, Lary has focussed on modern China, in particular on the impact of warfare on Chinese society. She also works on Chinese migration, within China and outside the country. She has travelled extensively in Asia and spent long periods doing research in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
'Professor Lary has analysed in depth the social forces that
prepared for the CCP's victory. She writes with deep compassion for
the Chinese people who have gone through the greatest social
upheaval in their history. A huge contribution to the understanding
of China's Civil War.' Pai Hsien-Yung, author of Taipei People
'The Chinese Civil War of 1946–9 devastated China and brought in a
powerful new regime. Yet there has been little attention to the
social history of the conflict. Diana Lary's superb new book fills
that gap. In compelling and often moving prose she moves from the
military to the social aspects of the war, taking us from the
generals' decision rooms to the streets packed with refugees. This
is a much-needed book that chronicles one of the century's most
important wars.' Rana Mitter, Director, University of Oxford China
Centre
'What Diana Lary has achieved is a tour de force, a wonderful
telling of the tumultuous social history of the Chinese Civil War
through personal anecdotes and stories of individual and family
experiences. Expertly crafted, the book fills a huge hole in our
understanding of the Chinese civil war and its subsequent impact on
the social history of the PRC.' Stephen R. MacKinnon, Arizona State
University
'Lary synthesizes a wealth of diverse sources to piece together a
detailed and gripping account of the last years of the Chinese
civil war, which was fought between Guomindang (GMD, Nationalist)
and Communist (CCP) forces … [Her] excellent monograph, her third
in Cambridge's New Approaches to Asian History series, focuses on
the daily experiences of Chinese from different strata of society.
Her colorful writing keeps readers engaged, even though the subject
is one of ultimate tragedy … Lary gives equal treatment to CCP and
GMD soldiers and supporters as well as those in between, and she
ends each chapter with a short section of biographies that allows
readers to connect her macro story with individual experiences. She
also juxtaposes the mid-twentieth-century civil war with comparable
occasions from China's past by including excerpts from famous
historical poems and idioms … a fine addition to any general
collection. Summing up: highly recommended.' P. B. Guingona,
Choice
'China's Civil War is a thoughtful and well-composed volume that
breaks the mould of telling military history by placing valuable
insight on the social dimensions of civil strife. Diana Lary's
interweaving of accounts of the war with people's lives illustrates
the conflict's pervasiveness across several social strata in
Chinese society, reminding us that countless numbers of everyday
Chinese endured significant hardship in wartime, and even
thereafter, in both Chinas, many more still seek to sew the broken
pieces of their lives back together.' Matt Galway, Pacific Affairs
Book Review
'This is the first comprehensive book to offer an invaluable review
on the social history of China during the period of Chinese
inconsistency and chaos. The author, through a detailed
sociological approach, has successfully identified social forces
that finally won the civil war for the leadership of China's
Communist Party … This book is then one of the best studies
addressing China's civil war; its reading is therefore recommended
to specialists in Chinese studies and sinologists.' Ghasem Torabi,
Europe-Asia Studies
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