ME Sharpe Professor

This popular text conveys the drama of China's struggle to modernize against the backdrop of a proud and difficult history. Spanning the years from China's humiliating defeat in the Opium Wars to its triumphant hosting of the 2008 summer Olympics, the authors narrate the major developments of that journey: the breakdown of imperial China in the face of Japanese and Western encroachments; Sun-Yat-sen and the founding of the Chinese republic; the early struggles between the ideologies and armies of Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong; China's bitter and costly war with Japan; the final shootout that sent Chiang to Taiwan and Mao to Beijing; the turbulent first decades of the People's Republic; and the dramatic shift to a globalizing economic strategy.

This edition features a new chapter on China's role in the twenty-first-century world, along with current analyses of issues facing the country's leaders today, including environmental challenges, rural economic development, corruption, integration in the global economy, China's relations with its neighbors and the United States, the Tibet crisis, and the reelection of Hu Jintao. The authors have also incorporated some of the latest scholarship on Chinese historical events, making this the best and most up-to-date brief text on modern China currently available.

“Much of what we would like an introductory text to do this one does very well. It is compact and not overly detailed, and yet its coverage is reasonably broad and comprehensive. Although it is primarily a political narrative, it weaves in considerable social, economic, and cultural matter, does not neglect international affairs, and is not afraid to raise questions and venture into deep controversial waters.” — Pacific Affairs (*)

“An excellent example of good writing based on sound scholarship in the genre of introductory texts to the study of modern China. Those who are teaching China's modern history, contemporary Chinese civilization and society, or comparative history will not hesitate to continue using it.” — China Review International

“Finally! An up-to-date book on modern Chinese history that's reader friendly yet comprehensive.” — Greg Guelcher, Morningside College

“One of the greatest challenges facing those who teach college-level courses on the history of modern China is finding a textbook that provides a concise historical narrative while also furnishing students with the cultural background information they need to understand that history. June Grasso, Jay Corrin, and Michael Kort have succeeded remarkably well in producing just such a survey of modern China. The authors have very successfully used the theme of modernization and revolution to convey a remarkably comprehensive yet easily understandable survey of the history of modern China.” — China Information