An Intellectual History of Modern China

by Merle Goldman, Leo Ou-fan Lee

Overview

An Intellectual History of Modern China is the only comprehensive book on modern China's intellectual development from the nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century.While existing studies tend to focus on individual Chinese thinkers, this book includes all the major Chinese thinkers, as well as political figures who have influenced China's modern history. Merle Goldman and Leo Ou-fan Lee introduce this this collection of essays, drawn from the later volumes (Volumes 12, 13, 14, 15) of The Cambridge History of China. The chapters, authored by eminent historians and social scientists in the field of Chinese studies, together trace the transformation of Confucian ideas, the introduction of Western views and the resulting, uniquely Chinese view of the world. By linking key intellectual developments and figures to emerging political movements, they explain the profound impact of changing ideas and values on Chinese politics and revolution. Merle Goldman brings the history up to date with a new, concluding chapter on the post-Mao era and China's intellectual scene at the end of the twentieth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521801201
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/16/2002
Pages:	618
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.29(h) x 1.42(d)

Table of Contents

1. Intellectual change; 2. Themes in intellectual history; 3. Literary trends: the quest for modernity; 4. Literary trends: the road to revolution; 5. Mao Tse-tung's thought to 1949; 6. The party and the intellectuals; 7. Mao Tse-tung's thought from 1949–76; 8. An intellectual history of the Deng era.

Editorial Reviews

Drawing close connections between political history and intellectual history, Goldman (Chinese history, Boston U.) and Lee (Chinese literature, Harvard U.) present a compilation of seven essays, written in the 1980s, drawn from the volumes, plus one new essay on developments in the post-Mao era. Following the chronological order of their subject matter, the essays discuss intellectual developments during the May Fourth movement, the pre- Revolution era, Communist rule, and the post-Mao period. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"...all chapters balance the emphasis of the thinking and actions of individual intellectuals with their broader historical, cultural, and political context, in order to encompass the broader conscious life in intellectual history. This comprehensive summary of classical scholarship is a useful guide for scholars and upper-division undergraduates who will benefit from its broad chronology and emphasis on many important Chinese thinkers and political figures." M. Cristina Zaccarini, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York, Candian Journal of History

"Skillfully and thoroughly investigates the intellectual history of modern China...Insightful and definitive." History: Reviews of New Books

"This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand China's twentieth century intellectual history." Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Literature

"Certainly politics is important in understanding public life in China, but the publication of this volume challenges and begs historians to move away from conceptualizing all intellectual history of China as political history. This book is worht reading and provides a point of departure for intellectual histories of modern China." China Review International

"In this collection of carefully researched essays, leading scholars explicate China's intellectual transformation from the 1890s to the 1990s...the rewards are many, and the potential for further research remains strong. As an "intellectual history of modern China" instead of a "modern Chinese intellectual history", the volume continues to inform and to orient further research." - The Journal of Asian Studies Wen-Hsin Yeh, University of California, Berkeley

From the Publisher