Making China Modern : From the Great Qing to Xi Jinping

"Thoughtful, probing...a worthy successor to the famous histories of Fairbank and Spence [that] will be read by all students and scholars of modern China." —William C. Kirby, coauthor of Can China Lead? It is tempting to attribute the rise of China to Deng Xiaoping and to recent changes in economic policy. But China has a long history of creative adaptation. In the eighteenth century, the Qing Empire dominated a third of the world's population. Then, as the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion ripped the country apart, China found itself verging on free fall. More recently, after Mao, China managed a surprising recovery, rapidly undergoing profound economic and social change. A dynamic story of crisis and recovery, failure and triumph, Making China Modern explores the versatility and resourcefulness that guaranteed China's survival, powered its rise, and will determine its future. "Chronicles reforms, revolutions, and wars through the lens of institutions, often rebutting Western impressions." — New Yorker "A remarkable accomplishment. Unlike an earlier generation of scholarship, Making China Modern does not treat China's contemporary transformation as a postscript. It accepts China as a major and active player in the world, places China at the center of an interconnected and global network of engagement, links domestic politics to international dynamics, and seeks to approach China on its own terms." —Wen-hsin Yeh, author of Shanghai Splendor A panoramic survey of Chinas rise and resilience through war and rebellion, disease and famine, that rewrites Chinas history for a new generation. It is tempting to attribute Chinas recent ascendance to changes in political leadership and economic policy. Making China Modern teaches otherwise. Moving beyond the standard framework of Cold War competition and national resurgence, Klaus Mhlhahn situates twenty-first-century China in the nations long history of creative adaptation. In the mid-eighteenth century, when the Qing Empire reached the height of its power, China dominated a third of the worlds population and managed its largest economy. But as the Opium Wars threatened the nations sovereignty from without and the Taiping Rebellion ripped apart its social fabric from within, China found itself verging on free fall. A network of family relations, economic interdependence, institutional innovation, and structures of governance allowed citizens to regain their footing in a convulsing world. In Chinas drive to reclaim regional centrality, its leaders looked outward as well as inward, at industrial developments and international markets offering new ways to thrive. This dynamic legacy of overcoming adversity and weakness is apparent today in Chinas triumphsbut also in its most worrisome trends. Telling a story of crisis and recovery, Making China Modern explores the versatility and resourcefulness that matters most to Chinas survival, and to its future possibilities. “Chronicles reforms, revolutions, and wars through the lens of institutions, often rebutting Western impressions...[And] warns against thinking of China’s economic success as proof of a unique path without contextualizing it in historical specifics.” —New Yorker “This thoughtful, probing interpretation is a worthy successor to the famous histories of Fairbank and Spence and will be read by all students and scholars of modern China.” —William C. Kirby, coauthor of Can China Lead? It is tempting to attribute the rise of China’s to recent changes in political leadership and economic policy. But China has had a long history of creative adaptation and it would be a mistake to think that its current trajectory began with Deng Xiaoping. In the mid-eighteenth century, when the Qing Empire reached the height of its power, China dominated a third of the world’s population. Then, as the Opium Wars threatened the nation’s sovereignty and the Taiping Rebellion ripped the country apart, China found itself verging on free fall. In the twentieth century China managed a surprising recovery, rapidly undergoing profound economic and social change, buttressed by technological progress. A dynamic story of crisis and recovery, failures and triumphs, Making China Modern explores the versatility and resourcefulness that has guaranteed China’s survival in the past, and is now fueling its future. "It is tempting to attribute China's recent ascendance to changes in political leadership and economic policy. Making China Modern teaches otherwise. Moving beyond the standard framework of Cold War competition and national resurgence, Klaus Mühlhahn situates twenty-first-century China in the nation's long history of creative adaptation. In the mid-eighteenth century, when the Qing Empire reached the height of its power, China dominated a third of the world's population and managed its largest economy. But as the Opium Wars threatened the nation's sovereignty from without and the Taiping Rebellion ripped apart its social fabric from within, China found itself verging on free fall. A network of family relations, economic interdependence, institutional innovation, and structures of governance allowed citizens to regain their footing in a convulsing world. In China's drive to reclaim regional centrality, its leaders looked outward as well as inward, at industrial developments and international markets offering new ways to thrive. This dynamic legacy of overcoming adversity and weakness is apparent today in China's triumphs--but also in its most worrisome trends. Telling a story of crisis and recovery, Making China Modern explores the versatility and resourcefulness that matters most to China's survival, and to its future possibilities"--Publisher's description Klaus Mühlhahn situates modern China in the nation's long, dynamic tradition of overcoming adversity and weakness through creative adaptation--a legacy of crisis and recovery that is apparent today in China's triumphs but also in its most worrisome trends. Mühlhahn's panoramic survey rewrites the history of modern China for a new generation.-- Provided by publisher Klaus Muhlhahn situates modern China in the nation's long, dynamic tradition of overcoming adversity and weakness through creative adaptation-a legacy of crisis and recovery that is apparent today in China's triumphs but also in its most worrisome trends. Muhlhahn's panoramic survey rewrites the history of modern China for a new generation.