Modern Chinese Warfare (Warfare and History) (Paperback)

by Bruce Elleman (Author) "On 15 September 1813, a Manchu prince named Mianning used his musket within the walls of the Forbidden City to fire at invading rebels from..." (more)
Key Phrases: foreign trade imperialism, domestic uprisings, northern expedition, Soviet Union, Han Chinese, Outer Mongolia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Modern Chinese Warfare is an informative book with some thought-provoking ideas, and readers who are interested in Chinese history should find it useful. - The China Journal

Graff has written a wonderful book... He has both the necessary mastery of a blizzard of intricate details, without which no comprehension of medieval China is possible, and the capacity to step back and describe the larger pattern within which they have occured...I am deeply impressed by the clarity and penetration of his treatment..
–Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Winter 2004

Not surprisingly, therefore, this book is as much, if not more, a history of the diplomacy associated with China's wars as it is a history of the military actions that were part of those wars. This is not a bad thing. Wars cannot be separated from the political, economic, social, cultural, political, and diplomatic environments in which they are fought. By presenting the interests, grievances, and objectives of the parties involved in China's wars between 1795 and 1989, Elleman gives his readers useful information and valuable insights for understanding why the wars occurred and why they turned out the way they did..
–The Journal of Military History

Product Description
Why did the Chinese empire collapse and why did it take so long for a new government to reunite China? Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 seeks to answer these questions by exploring the most important domestic and international conflicts over the past two hundred years, from the last half of the Qing empire through to modern day China. This book reveals how most of China's wars during this period were fought to preserve Chinese unity, and examines the cyclical pattern of imperial decline, domestic chaos and finally the creation of a new unifying dynasty. Exposing China as an imperialist country, and one which has often manipulated western powers in its favour, Bruce A. Elleman seeks to redress the view of China as a victimised nation. Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 is a concise survey of the military history of China, and makes a valuable contribution to the debate over whether China poses a military threat to the West today.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (March 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415214742
• ISBN-13: 978-0415214742
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,598,603 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars History From the "Winner's" POV, June 18, 2003

By A Customer

One of the worst-kept secrets in academia is that Western historians of Asian History feel a sense of superiority over their Asian counterparts. The former generally think that their views are more accurate and deserve more consideration than the views of the latter, and sometimes go as far as putting down the latter as misled, ignorant, or egotistical. The author of this book is no exception.

To the author's credit, the book is well-researched and written. It serves as a credible one volume history of Chinese warfare.

To the author's discredit, he doesn't hesitate to remind readers that the Chinese are unjustified in thinking of themselves as victims of the West. To give an example, the author states that Great Britain only wanted free trade, not territory, when it engaged in the Opium War with China. Funny how she didn't mind getting Hong Kong as part of her victory (followed by Kowloon and the New Territories). Funny how Britain retained control of Hong Kong for 100 years until having it snatched away from her by Japan during WWII. Funny how during that period, Britain strove to regain Hong Kong after the war, and did. It would seem to the reader that imperialism was such a benign concept that anyone who was against it was an idiot. No doubt China was a backward, decadent country during the period covered in the book, but just because she was didn't mean that the West had a right to add fuel to the fire. Yes, Western influence did bring about some benefits, but not every Chinese shared in them immediately or even eventually, and benefiting the natives wasn't the primary purpose of imperialism.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely examination of the growing Chinese threat, February 19, 2008

By	Steven W. "fire4effect" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Professor Elleman was an instructor of mine when I was a senior student at the Naval War College. We used this book in our class and I found it very insightful when examining the People's Republic's friction with its' neighbors since its formation in 1949. Professor Elleman's book is one of the only sources (in English) that I have come across that covers in detail China's 1979 conflict with Vietnam and the 1969 border war with the Soviet Union. It is extremely well researched and is for those who are serious about learning more about America's "rising peer competitor".

7 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Triumphalism, December 4, 2003

By A Customer

The framework of this book provides a useful outline and an avenue of research, which hopefully someone with better insights will some day pick up. Unfortunately the derisive Elleman shows absolutely no understanding of the Chinese side, politically or culturally. Like all too many of the wars he attempts to deconstruct, this book itself is a high-tech weapon slamming into the "backward peasant" that is China and its history.