China in Transformation / Edition 1

by Wei-ming Tu

Overview

What will China look like in 2000? Tectonic forces are at work and its seeming stability has been largely lost after Tiananmen Square. Changing political, social, economic, intellectual, and cultural conditions are transforming China and its neighbors with a majority Chinese population. The authors in this book, taking full advantage of the new freedom of inquiry, shed light on the Chinese experience, elaborating not only on the vast changes sweeping all sectors of Chinese society, but also on the tradition that has persisted. As communism did not erase the past, so new experiences build on the past and tease out newness with great resemblances. Modernity takes many forms, memory repressed for a time may reassert itself; myth, the invention of individuals and collectivities, may be more powerful than prosaic fact. Cultural factors as agents of change appear more important than ever.

This book demonstrates that today Confucian societies have salient features on a restless landscape. The authors confine themselves to enduring questions about today’s Sinic societies so that educated readers and scholars of modern China and the Chinese will better understand the more populous half of the world. Contributing authors include William P. Alford, David E. Apter, Myron L. Cohen, Edward Friedman, Tongqi Lin, Perry Link, Andrew J. Nathan, Benjamin I. Schwartz, Tianjian Shi, Helen F. Siu, Wang Gungwu, and Ying-shih Yü.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674117549
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	01/01/1994
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Tu Wei-ming is Director of the Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Peking University, and Harvard-Yenching Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy and of Confucian Studies, Emeritus, Harvard University. He directed the Harvard-Yenching Institute from 1996 to 2008.

What People are Saying About This

These are some astute commentaries on 'whither China' that have sufficient perspective to transcend the limits of daily journalism; for a while at least, they will be helpful guides to a very complex society in transformation.

Albert Feuerwerker

These are some astute commentaries on 'whither China' that have sufficient perspective to transcend the limits of daily journalism; for a while at least, they will be helpful guides to a very complex society in transformation.
— Albert Feuerwerker, University of Michigan

Editorial Reviews

As a short-term ideology (writes Professor Perry Link, in [this] insightful eleven chapter symposium…tightly edited by Professor Tu Wei-Ming)…to ‘make money’ does hold out advantages for China. More wealth might sweeten the bitter lives of the still large peasant population, family enterprise long dormant might once more flourish, parallel freedoms might ensue and so on. Yet to make money, ‘can only be a stopgap’…[and] is clearly not the end of the story.

Asia Pacific Business Review [UK] - Malcolm Warner

Provides thought-provoking insights into China as it changes—or refuses to change—and should have wide appeal.

Asian Affairs - Marjorie Dryburgh

China in Transformation will appeal to the educated reader interested in modern China, to scholars, and to the many students to whom it will be assigned. The book will have a longer life and, I am certain, a much greater impact than the many other volumes that attempt to chronicle an ever-transforming China.

William C. Kirby

These are some astute commentaries on ‘whither China’ that have sufficient perspective to transcend the limits of daily journalism; for a while at least, they will be helpful guides to a very complex society in transformation.

Albert Feuerwerker

China in Transformation is a fascinating and timely book which brings together twelve scholars from very different specialties—philosophy, history, literature, law, sociology, anthropology, political science, and religion—to analyze the complexities and possibilities of China’s future… There are many…important themes in this vibrant volume, and I encourage readers to see for themselves what this project contains.

China Review International - William A. Callahan

As a short-term ideology (writes Professor Perry Link, in [this] insightful eleven chapter symposium...tightly edited by Professor Tu Wei-Ming)...to 'make money' does hold out advantages for China. More wealth might sweeten the bitter lives of the still large peasant population, family enterprise long dormant might once more flourish, parallel freedoms might ensue and so on. Yet to make money, 'can only be a stopgap'...[and] is clearly not the end of the story.
— Malcolm Warner

Asia Pacific Business Review [UK]

China in Transformation is a fascinating and timely book which brings together twelve scholars from very different specialties-philosophy, history, literature, law, sociology, anthropology, political science, and religion-to analyze the complexities and possibilities of China's future...There are many...important themes in this vibrant volume, and I encourage readers to see for themselves what this project contains.
— William A. Callahan

China Review International

Provides thought-provoking insights into China as it changes—or refuses to change—and should have wide appeal.
— Marjorie Dryburgh

Asian Affairs

Contains 11 articles, ten of which appeared in the Spring 1993 issue of Daedalus, v.122, no.2, of the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the eleventh appeared in the Summer 1993 issue. The contributors shed light on current conditions, the traditions that have persisted, and the prospects for the future in China. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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