Mao's China and the Cold War (New Cold War History) [Paperback]

Chen Jian (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807849324 | ISBN-13: 978-0807849323 | Publication Date: December 5, 2000

This comprehensive study of China's Cold War experience reveals the crucial role Beijing played in shaping the orientation of the global Cold War and the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The success of China's Communist revolution in 1949 set the stage, Chen says. The Korean War, the Taiwan Strait crises, and the Vietnam War--all of which involved China as a central actor--represented the only major "hot" conflicts during the Cold War period, making East Asia the main battlefield of the Cold War, while creating conditions to prevent the two superpowers from engaging in a direct military showdown. Beijing's split with Moscow and rapprochement with Washington fundamentally transformed the international balance of power, argues Chen, eventually leading to the end of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the decline of international communism.

Based on sources that include recently declassified Chinese documents, the book offers pathbreaking insights into the course and outcome of the Cold War.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The author, formerly a student in Shanghai and at Southern Illinois University, uses primary sources from Chinese archival materials to provide new information on and analysis of Chinese leader Mao Zedong's behavior during the Cold War. Chen takes further the current literature on Chinese security interests (see Andrew J. Nathan and Robert S. Ross's The Great Wall and the Empty Fortress, LJ 7/97; for Mao's life, see Philip Short's Mao: A Life, LJ 11/15/99, and Ross Terrill's Mao Zedong: A Biography, Stanford Univ., 2000) and presents two important points: First, he argues that Mao made decisions primarily based on his ability to promote "continuous revolution" in China and bolster his own power. And, second, he asserts that Mao used the Chinese people's "victim mentality" (i.e., the feeling that foreign powers were poised to take unfair advantage of China's vulnerabilities) to rally public opinion. The author investigates several case studies, including the rise of the Cold War, America's "loss" of China, the Sino-Soviet alliance, the Korean War, the first and second Indochina War, the Polish-Hungarian crisis, and the Taiwan Strait crisis. We are fortunate to have this book because of the author's analysis and use of sources that are not generally available to non-Chinese. Highly recommended for all academic libraries and public libraries with international relations collections. Peggy Spitzer Christoff, Rockville, MD
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Chen's extensive documentation will boldly challenge the revisionist view of a more pragmatic Mao. (Foreign Affairs)

We are fortunate to have this book because of the author's analysis and use of sources that are not generally available to non-Chinese. (Library Journal)

A major contribution to our understanding of Chinese Cold War history. Chen Jian's unrivaled control of the new and plentiful Chinese source materials is evident throughout, as an inspiration to other scholars in the field. (Odd Arne Westad, London School of Economics)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (December 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807849324
• ISBN-13: 978-0807849323
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Current Events > Arms Control

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pathbreaking piece of scholarship, March 23, 2007

By 

Sergey Radchenko (Pittsburg, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mao's China and the Cold War (New Cold War History) (Paperback)

Chen Jian's book for a number of years has been the standard "must read" text for any student of modern Chinese history. An excellent example of "new Cold War" scholarship, the book makes excellent use of newly available Chinese primary sources and secondary materials to explain policy making of the PRC leadership. The book's central argument is that Mao's endless pursuit of "continous revolution" in China defined his priorities in foreign policy, so that essentially a confrontational foreign policy became a necessary backdrop to domestic political developments. The argument has its own critics; one may argue, for instance, that the domestic politics first approach is unduly Sino-centric, and ignores the dynamic of China's relationship with other powers, notably the US and the USSR. But for better or worse, Chen Jian's argument cannot be ignored. The book is nicely written, and I had my undergraduate students digest it with apparent ease. Highly recommended.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chen Jian Corners the Market, December 11, 2007

By 

Bryan Gibby (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Mao's China and the Cold War (New Cold War History) (Paperback)

Chen Jian's works on China's rise to international power are groundbreaking books exploiting Chinese (and Soviet too) source materials and interviews. This book follows along the same pattern established in his 1994 book, "China's Road to the Korean War," which argues that Mao's ideological commitment to the social and political revolution forecasted, even guaranteed, a shooting conflict with the United States. In Mao's China and the Cold War, Chen goes further in his analysis, demonstrating that it was Mao's worldview and determination to make China the central figure in the international Communist movement that was the driving force behind China's many foreign entanglements: Korea, First and Second Indo-China Wars, Taiwan Strait Crisis, the sundering of the brotherly alliance between Beijing and Hanoi, and the nearly fatal rift between Mao and Moscow. Chen deftly describes Mao's concern for "continuous revolution," and the fear that reactionary movements abroad would influence the Chinese population at home. Of equal concern to Mao was the effort to harness the people's enthusiasm for ultimately disasterous endeavors, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Chen shows that Mao accomplished these "mobilizations" and maintained his grip on power by demonizing first the United States, then the Soviet Union. This form of politics served Mao well, allowing him to keep his supporters in check (even if he ended up purging them in the end) and his opponents disoriented. It even allowed him the freedom to make the compromise most surprising of all -- normalization of relations with the United States in the early '70s. Chen points out that even with this act, Mao was pursuing his goal of radicalizing his own movement, particulary vis-a-vis the Soviets. Ironic, then, that in permanently casting away from the Soviet-led bloc (to which Mao had more than once pledged allegiance), Mao nearly guaranteed the former's disintegration and went a long way to undermining international Communism's appeal world-wide.

A bibliographical essay addressing each chapter enhances the usefulness of this book for students and those getting acquainted with the Far East during the Cold War.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars View of the Cold War years from a different perspective, May 6, 2002

By 

"jcj7t" (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mao's China and the Cold War (New Cold War History) (Paperback)

Chen presents the Cold War from a Chinese perspective and he details Chairman Mao's rise to power and his complete control of the party till his death in 1976. His discussion on the internal political struggles within the Chinese Communist Party is fascinating. I found the book helpful in understanding the underlying communist thoughts and policies as related to the Korean War and the Vietnam War. I also really enjoyed Chen's closing thoughts on the future of communism in China. The book is quite insightful and an enjoyable read.