ABSTRACT

One of the most remarkable stories of the last century is the emergence of China as a modern economic giant, poised at the beginning of the 21st century to become a great world power. China has embraced the technological advances of the late 20th century and has provided new opportunities for millions of Chinese to improve their lives. While problems have accompanied this transformation, China's future holds unprecedented prosperity for 1.3 billion Chinese and greatly enhanced international status for the government that is making this possible.

This new textbook on the People's Republic focuses on the changes which have swept through China for the past half-century. As well as providing a coherent narrative of the major events in China's recent past, China Since 1949 also provides an integrated treatment of:

   -  the history of women's experiences under the communist regime
    - the Chinese Communist Party’s treatment of ethnic minorities within China's borders and the rise of nationalism    among the Mongols, Uighurs and Tibetans
    - the regional differences within China and the resulting tensions
    - the social implications of the Chinese Communist Party's attempts to control every facet of Chinese people's lives.

The accompanying documents providing primary source materials, the Chronology and Who's Who of key figures help to ensure that this is an indispensable text for students studying modern China.

part |2 pages

PART ONE CHINA’S PAST

chapter 1|9 pages

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

chapter 2|7 pages

GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

part |2 pages

PART TWO CHINA UNDER THE COMMUNIST PARTY

chapter 4|15 pages

THE RADICAL MAOIST PHASE, 1958–76 38

chapter 5|14 pages

BUILDING REFORM-ERA CHINA, 1977–89

chapter 6|7 pages

DEEPENING REFORM: CHINA IN THE 1990S

chapter 7|11 pages

CHALLENGES IN THE 1990S

chapter 8|18 pages

CONTEMPORARY CHINESE SOCIETY

chapter 10|11 pages

CHINA AND THE WORLD

part |2 pages

PART THREE ASSESSING CHINA’S RISE

chapter 11|6 pages

CONCLUSIONS

part |1 pages

PART FOUR DOCUMENTS

chapter 1|1 pages

The 1950 Marriage Law

chapter 4|1 pages

‘Speak Bitterness’ meetings

chapter 5|2 pages

China’s regional autonomy system

chapter 6|1 pages

Political campaigns of 1957–8

chapter 7|1 pages

Recollections of the Great Leap Forward

chapter 8|1 pages

A letter to Mao on the Great Leap Forward

chapter 11|1 pages

Accounts of the Cultural Revolution

chapter 14|2 pages

CCP statement on the events of 4 June 1989

chapter 15|1 pages

Privatization of State-owned enterprises

chapter 16|1 pages

Underground Christian churches

chapter 17|1 pages

Atheism in China

chapter 18|2 pages

Measures of China’s modernization

chapter 19|2 pages

China’s new consumer culture

chapter 20|1 pages

Revisions to the 1980 Marriage Law

chapter 21|2 pages

Chinese history text

chapter 22|1 pages

China and climate change

chapter 23|1 pages

Chinese artists

chapter 25|2 pages

Nationalism and the internet

chapter 26|1 pages

The case of Liu Xiaobo

chapter 27|2 pages

China’s economic future

chapter 28|1 pages

China’s ‘harmonious world’

chapter 29|1 pages

United States–China relations

chapter 30|2 pages

An assessment of President Hu

chapter 31|1 pages

China and Central Asia

chapter 32|3 pages

China and Taiwan