This book examines the Chinese political tradition over the past two thousand years and argues that the enduring and most important feature of this tradition is autocracy. The author interprets the communist takeover of 1949 not as a revolution but as a continuation of the imperial tradition. The book shows how Mao Zedong revitalised this autocratic tradition along five lines: the use of ideology for political control; concentration of power in the hands of a few; state power over all aspects of life; law as a tool wielded by the ruler, who is himself above the law; and the subjection of the individual to the state. Using a statist approach, the book argues that in China political action of the state has been the single most important factor in determining socio-economic change.
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"The book offers a detailed account of the origin and content of Chinese autocratic tradition, traced to 221 BC when the Qin Dynasty unified China under central political authority and transformed the structure of the polity from "a dispersed pluralist pattern to a centralized monist pattern."" National Security Studies Quarterly
Book Description
An examination of the Chinese political tradition over the past two thousand years which argues that the enduring and most important feature of this tradition is autocracy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The connection between the ancient Chinese past and the present,
By Future Watch Writer (Washington, D.C. Area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Autocratic Tradition and Chinese Politics (Hardcover)
This is a very important book. It reveals a direct connection between the ancient Chinese past and the present. While the subject of Chinese totalitarian Legalist thinking is covered in detail in Chinese language texts, very little is in English. This book is very needed. People should see my Listamania list for more books on Leglism.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great contribution to understanding China,
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This review is from: Autocratic Tradition and Chinese Politics (Hardcover)
Sorry to see the rank of this book is as low as the author's other book "China's Legalists: The Earliest Totalitarians and Their Art of Ruling". I can't find any other books (written in English) by Chinese scholars that are as good. Not sure if the author is writing anything new after his retirement.
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