Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction: state and intellectuals at the turn of the century; Part I. Line Struggle Revidicus: The Attack on Deng's Reform Program: 1. Tiananmen and the conservative critique of reform; 2. Deng moves to revive reform; Part II. Redefining Reform: the Search for a New Way: 3. The emergence of neo-conservatism; 4. Post-modernism versus liberalism: the emerging gulf of values; 5. The emergence of neo-statism and popular nationalism; Part III. Elite Politics and Popular Nationalism: 6. Jiang Zemin's rise to power; 7. Elite politics in an era of globalization and nationalism; Conclusion; Epilogue; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

This book offers a comprehensive assessment of the evolution of China since the Tiananmen Incident (1989).

Reviews

'… it offers one of the clearest accounts written so far of the various academic trends in contemporary China.' Asian Affairs

'China since Tiananmen is a most impressive narrative of china's political transition in the past decade … By way of examining the past, China since Tiananmen enhances our understanding of the future.' New Zealand International Review

'… the book is clearly one of the finest published in recent years on Chinese politics. Fewsmith does a marvelous job in delineating the different strands of contemporary Chinese intellectual thoughts and in guiding us through the literati landscape of China.' Democratization

'The book is a masterpiece of excavation of intellectual trends that had their origins in the 1980s but were overlooked because of western enthusiasm to see a world that would look like ours. It is descriptive rather than analytical, but it will be an essential resource for anyone who wishes to understand how these changes came about, who the key thinkers were, and how a nascent public opinion played into elite politics.' Development & Change

'… exceptional book … Fewsmith does an excellent job of tracing the ups and downs of the factions within the party leadership and their shifting influence during this tumultuous period.' Journal of East Asian Studies

'... it offers one of the clearest accounts written so far of the various academic trends in contemporary China.' Asian Affairs
'China since Tiananmen is a most impressive narrative of china's political transition in the past decade ... By way of examining the past, China since Tiananmen enhances our understanding of the future.' New Zealand International Review
'... the book is clearly one of the finest published in recent years on Chinese politics. Fewsmith does a marvelous job in delineating the different strands of contemporary Chinese intellectual thoughts and in guiding us through the literati landscape of China.' Democratization
'The book is a masterpiece of excavation of intellectual trends that had their origins in the 1980s but were overlooked because of western enthusiasm to see a world that would look like ours. It is descriptive rather than analytical, but it will be an essential resource for anyone who wishes to understand how these changes came about, who the key thinkers were, and how a nascent public opinion played into elite politics.' Development & Change
'... exceptional book ... Fewsmith does an excellent job of tracing the ups and downs of the factions within the party leadership and their shifting influence during this tumultuous period.' Journal of East Asian Studies

This lucid, perceptive, and balanced account of Chinese elite politics and the public debates of the 1990s demonstrates that China is now in a new stage of politics and thought. After briefly surveying the views of China watchers in the West, Fewsmith (international relations, Boston Univ.) addresses the initial critique from Party conservatives of economic reform and globalization that formed the background to the trauma of 1989. Deng Xiaoping's 1992 moves to revive economic reform then led to an openness of policy debate without precedent in Leninist systems and to new paradigms for China. Chinese intellectuals since Confucius have been more often oriented to the state than to church or business, and the 1990s saw an explosive reemergence of semiofficial think tanks, journals, and publishers with inside ties. Fewsmith gives a clear overview of the contending new theories of liberals, postmodernists, nationalists, neostatists, and neoconservatives. President and Communist Party secretary Jiang Zemin and future Chinese leaders are constrained by these new forces, especially a well-articulated popular nationalism, making Fewsmith's book important for those trying to understand China today. Highly recommended. Charles W. Hayford, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.