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Available From UC Press
China's Quest for Modernization
A Historical Perspective
The seventeen essays collected here, written by Chinese and U.S. scholars, explore the reasons for China's historical failure to modernize and develop recommendations on the path China should follow in its current quest for modernization. The book opens with a general review and then moves into economic, political and social, cultural, foreign relations, population, comparative, and regional studies.
Frederic Wakeman Jr. (1937–2006) was Walter and Elise Haas Professor of Asian Studies and director of the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
Education: B.A. Harvard University, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
Wang Xi is professor of history and economics, Fudan University.
Wang Xi is professor of history and economics, Fudan University.
"This collection of papers from a conference held at Fudan University in Shanghai in 1992 is praiseworthy for two reasons. The first is the simple fact that the conference was held less than three years after the Tiananmen crisis….The second praiseworthy feature is the excellent quality of some of the chapters. Despite the absence of a single thematic argument, several strong lines of discussion emerge from the book, and these are ably highlighted by Frederic Wakeman.... This well-produced book will be of use to scholars and advanced students alike."—Peter Harris, Victoria University, New Zealand, The China Journal 43, (January 2000): 217-219.
"Based on a conference held in Shanghai in 1992, this collection of essays brings together an impressive group of Chinese and American scholars to reconsider some of the major issues in modem Chinese history....[T]he volume generally focuses on three broad themes: the interaction between China and the West, long-term secular trends in Chinese society, and state-society relations....Overall, this collection of essays is essential reading for all specialists and will provide much grist for graduate seminars and upper class history courses alike."—Joseph Fewsmith, The China Quarterly, no. 150 (September 1999): 735-736
“For anyone who is interested in current discussions of China’s modernization, this volume is essential reading. It offers a wide variety of opinions to interpret China’s modernization and the policies of the current Chinese government.”—Tze-Ki Hon, State University of New York, Journal of Asian and African Studies 33, no. 4 (November 1998): 388-389.
"Based on a conference held in Shanghai in 1992, this collection of essays brings together an impressive group of Chinese and American scholars to reconsider some of the major issues in modem Chinese history....[T]he volume generally focuses on three broad themes: the interaction between China and the West, long-term secular trends in Chinese society, and state-society relations....Overall, this collection of essays is essential reading for all specialists and will provide much grist for graduate seminars and upper class history courses alike."—Joseph Fewsmith, The China Quarterly, no. 150 (September 1999): 735-736
“For anyone who is interested in current discussions of China’s modernization, this volume is essential reading. It offers a wide variety of opinions to interpret China’s modernization and the policies of the current Chinese government.”—Tze-Ki Hon, State University of New York, Journal of Asian and African Studies 33, no. 4 (November 1998): 388-389.