Mandate Of Heaven: In China, A New Generation Of Entrepreneurs, Dissidents, Bohemians And Technocra (Paperback)

~ Orville Schell (Author), Jim Jorgensen (Author) "By the time the Chinese New Year ushered in the Year of the Snake in February 1989, the city of Beijing was seething with a..." (more)
Key Phrases: gray culture, counterrevolutionary rebellion, literary reportage, Hong Kong, Tiananmen Square, People's Daily (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Schell examines the new cultural and economic parameters in China in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre and subsequent crackdown, showing a country where entrepreneurial ambition and pop-culture irony have replaced the pieties of the Mao era.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Lucian Pye The New York Times Book Review Lively and elegantly written...Mr. Schell's blend of graceful analysis and unobtrusive firsthand reporting...skillfully captures the improbable, even surreal, air of theater that pervades much of contemporary China. -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 20, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684804476
• ISBN-13: 978-0684804477
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,562,246 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Schell shows the marriage of Chinese Politics and Economy, December 30, 2000

By	Prashant Jeloka "jeloka" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Schell has chosen an unusual way to describe the modern China's economy and what has shaped it over the years. He spends almost half the book describing the events and the modern day significance of Tiananmen Square (a very accurate picture). He then moves on to describe Deng Xiapong's role in the Beijing Massacre and as the maker of the modern Chinese economy. Schell has chosen a unique way to look at the events and very successfully weaved the Tiananmen Square's events with the China today. He choses interesting examples to illustrate just how deeply some aspects of the western world grips China. He talks of the ironical Mao-mania where one could find almost anything with pictures of Mao selling in China. His account of the key people in China then and now gave me a clear picture of what really went on in the lives of the people. This is one of those books where I could picture the events in my mind, and came out feeling extremely satisfied with the read. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the Chinese Politics and Chinese Economy, and how they are invaluabe in understanding each other.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Examining a Vivid Popular History of Post-Tiananmen China, January 12, 2001

By	Che Clark (Georgetown, IN United States) - See all my reviews

Schell's understanding of modern China is tremendous. This text is indispensible to anyone seeking insight into where China is headed in the coming decades. It is, however, written in a journalistic style. Therefore, those seeking an academic, scholarly examination of the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the socio-political impact that followed will not find it here. Schell is extensive in his examination of events, one might even say exhaustive. He masterfully paints an image of the modern movements in China and it is for this reason that Mandate of Heaven is a valuable work.

As a passionate student of History at Indiana University, I had hoped to find, as indicated above, an academic work studying modern China. Schell's perspective is essential to such an understanding, but Mandate of Heaven does not take a scholarly approach. The book was nonetheless an entertaining read.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Schell delivers..., August 6, 1999

By A Customer

Schell is a sensitive observer of events. Schell is putting his undergraduate training in Chinese to good use. I am the process of comparing works by Bernstein, Butterfield, Fraser, and Schell, and I have been impressed with Schell's works so far. Mandate is fairly meaty, full of first-hand observations and post-op reflections. Overall, a very good job