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The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957 by [Frank Dikötter]

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Frank Dikötter

The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957 Kindle Edition

by Frank Dikötter (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A groundbreaking chronicle of the violent early years of the People's Republic of China, by the author of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize–winning Mao's Great Famine.

“The Chinese Communist party refers to its victory in 1949 as a 'liberation.' In China the story of liberation and the revolution that followed is not one of peace, liberty, and justice. It is first and foremost a story of calculated terror and systematic violence.” So begins Frank Dikötter's stunning and revelatory chronicle of Mao Zedong's ascension and campaign to transform the Chinese into what the party called New People. Following the defeat of Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, after a bloody civil war, Mao hoisted the red flag over Beijing's Forbidden City, and the world watched as the Communist revolution began to wash away the old order. Due to the secrecy surrounding the country's records, little has been known before now about the eight years that followed, preceding the massive famine and Great Leap Forward.

Drawing on hundreds of previously classified documents, secret police reports, unexpurgated versions of leadership speeches, eyewitness accounts of those who survived, and more, The Tragedy of Liberation bears witness to a shocking, largely untold history. Interweaving stories of ordinary citizens with tales of the brutal politics of Mao's court, Frank Dikötter illuminates those who shaped the “liberation” and the horrific policies they implemented in the name of progress. People of all walks of life were caught up in the tragedy that unfolded, and whether or not they supported the revolution, all of them were asked to write confessions, denounce their friends, and answer queries about their political reliability. One victim of thought reform called it a “carefully cultivated Auschwitz of the mind.” Told with great narrative sweep, The Tragedy of Liberation is a powerful and important document giving voice at last to the millions who were lost, and casting new light on the foundations of one of the most powerful regimes of the twenty-first century.

Print length

401 pages
Language

English
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Publisher

Bloomsbury Press
Publication date

September 24, 2013
File size

3374 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frank Dikötter is Chair Professor of Humanities at the University of Hong Kong. Before moving to Asia in 2006, he was Professor of the Modern History of China at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He has published nine books about the history of China, including Mao's Great Famine, which won the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction in 2011.
http://www.frankdikotter.com/

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Review

“Frank Dikötter's The Tragedy of Liberation just might force Mao's fans to look reality in the eye--and grow up . . .With Mao's Famine and The Tragedy of Liberation, Mr. Dikötter has created the first two parts of an important trilogy . . . As someone who did witness the Cultural Revolution firsthand, as a diplomat in Beijing from 1966 to 1969, I look forward to Mr. Dikötter's analysis in his final volume.” ―George Walden, The Wall Street Journal

“As he did in his previous work, Dikötter wades deep into the grim reality . . . [and] marshals his meticulous research to show how Mao continually set up expectiations only to mow them viciously down. Under the 'shiny surface' of Mao's propaganda, the author ably reveals the violence and misery.” ―Kirkus

“The book is a remarkable work of archival research . . . Dikötter sustains a strong human dimension to the story by skillfully weaving individual voices through the length of the book.” ―Financial Times

“With a mixture of passion and ruthlessness, he marshals the facts, many of them recently unearthed in party archives. Out of these, Mr Dikötter constructs a devastating case for how extreme violence, not a moral mandate, was at the heart of how the party got to power, and of how it then governed.” ―Economist

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CIR97UC
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Press; 1st edition (September 24, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 24, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3374 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 401 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #182,532 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #27 in Revolutionary History
- #54 in History of China
- #56 in Communism & Socialism (Kindle Store)

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4.5 662 ratings

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Frank Dikötter

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Frank Dikotter is the author of a dozen books that have changed the way we look at the history of modern China, including Mao's Great Famine, winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in 2011. His work has been translated into twenty languages, including The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-1957, which was short-listed for the Orwell Prize in 2014, and The Cultural Revolution: A People's History, 1962-1976, the final volume in his trilogy on the Mao era. He is Chair Professor at the University of Hong Kong and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. More information can be found on his website at www.frankdikotter.com

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4.5 out of 5

662 global ratings

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ALBERTO NAVARRO

THE TRAGEDY OF THE LIIBERATION.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 13, 2023

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EXCELLENT TEN STARS!
THIS BOOK IS THE FIRST OF THE TRILOGY OF THE MAOIST ERA, WRITTEN BY THE DUTCH HISTORIAN FRANK DIKÖTTER, IT COVERS
FROM 1945 AT THE END OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC WAR TO 1957 THE YEAR OF THE ANTIRIGHTIST PURGE ON THE EVE OF THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD.
THE COMMUNIST REVOLUTION IN CHINA
HAS BEEN PORTRAYED BY THE LEFTIST CIRCLES IN THE WEST AS A BENEVOLENT ONE THAT ENDED THE FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN
CHNA, HOWEVER AS THE AUTHOR POINTS OUT THAT COULD BE NO FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
THE RED TERROR STARTED EVEN BEFORE THE
COMMUNIST TOOK THE POWER AS THE TOOKOVER IN MANCHURIA BY THE INFAMOUS GENERAL LIN BIAO IN 1948 DEMOSTRATES.
EVERY CITY AND TOWN THAT THEY TOOK OVER THE COMMUNISTS IMPOSED THE RED TERROR.
ONCE THEY TOOK OVER THE WHOLE COUNTRY IN 1949,THEY IMPOSED A TYRANNICAL AND TOTALITARIAN REGIME AS
THE COUNTRY NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE.
THE PREVIOUS REGIME OF THE NATIONALISTS OR KUOMINTANG OF GENERALISIMO CHIANG KAI SHEK HAD A LOT OF FLAWS, BUT NOTHING OF THE SORT OF THE ATROCIOUS MONSTUOSITY OF MAO AND HIS HENCHMENS.
MASS EXECUTIONS, GULAGS, FAMINE, DESTRUCTION OF PRIVATE PROPERY AND RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION WERE THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE REGIME FROM DAY ONE.
THE WHOLE SOCIETY WAS TORNED APART ,
THE BONDS OF FAMILY AND FRIENDSHIP WERE DESTROYED.
THE REGIME ENCOURAGED DENUNCIATIONS,
ALSO THE LONG SECCIONS OF INDOCTRINATION AND BRAIN WASHING THAT
POISONED THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE, EVERYBODY WAS AGAINST EVERYBODY.
THE WORKERS AND THE PEASANTS IN WHOSE NAME THE REVOLUTION WAS DONE, WERE
SLAVES, THEY WERE EXPLOITED AND HUMILLIATED, THEY LACKED HOUSING,
HOUSING AND FOOD ; FAMINE WAS RAMPANT
IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY.
THE CULTURE AND THE ARTS WERE OBLITERATED (THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION OF 1966-1976 WILL DEEPEN THE PROCESS).
THE ECONOMY WAS DESTROYED AND THE
POVERTY WAS MUCH WORSE THAN IN THE KUOMINTANG REGIME.
THE WESTERN PRESENCE WAS SUBSTITUTED BY THE SOVIET ONE WHICH WAS MUCH WORSE AND HUMILLIATING.
ALL THE RELIGIOUS WERE SAVAGELY PERSECUTED, THE TEMPLES ( BUDDHISTS AND
TAOISTS), CHURCHES ( CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS) AND THE ISLAMIC MOSQUES
WERE RANSACKED AND LOOTED.
THE MAOIST REGIME (AS IN ALL OF THE
OTHERS COMMUNISTS REGIMES) , SOWED
DIVISION, DOSCORD, RESENTMENT AND
HATRED; ORIGINALLY MANY PEOPLE WELCOMED THE REDS, BUT SOON THEY REALIZED THAT THEY WERE MUCH WORSE
IN ALL THE ASPECTS THAN BEFORE, ALL
SORTS OF FREEDOMS WERE OBLITERATED,
AS A RESULT THERE WERE MANY PROTESTS
AND EVEN UPRISINGS AGAINST THE REGIME
THAT WERE SAVAGELY REPRESSED.
IN OCTOBER 1950 MAO INTERVENED IN
THE KOREAN WAR TO SUPPORT THE TOTALITARIAN COMMUNIST REGIME OF
KIM IL SUNG IN NORTH KOREA,WHO WAS
( WITH THE SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT
OF BOTH THE SOVIET UNION AND RED CHINA),THE RESPONSABLE OF THE OUTBREAK OF THE KOREAN WAR WITH
HIS AGGRESSION AGAINST THE SOUTH ON
JUNE 1950; THE CHINESE INTERVENTION
PROLONGUED UNNECESARILY THE KOREAN
WAR TO MORE THAN TWO YEARS AND A HALF,WITH THE HIGH COST OF HUMAN LIVES
ESPECIALLY IN THE CHINESE SIDE, THE COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA ALSO SPREAD
THE FALSE ACCUSATIONS THAT THE AMERICANS WERE USING GERM WARFARE,
THAT WAS A BLATANT LIE THAT WAS FINALLY
DISCARDED.
IT CAN BE SAID THAT MAO AND HIS HENCHMENS CREATED IN CHINA A HELL IN THE EARTH, THE BOOK ENDED IN 1957
WITH THE ANTIRIGHTIST PURGE, NEVERTHELESS MUCH WORSE THINGS WERE
TO COME WITH IN 1958 MAO UNLEASHED
THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD THAT WOULD
LAST FOUR AND LEFT IN ITS WAKE 45 MILLIONS OF DEATHS, THAT IS THE SECOND
VOLUME OF THE TRILOGY THAT I AM
CURRENTLY READING.

One person found this helpful

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"Dead or alive, you will donate."

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 1, 2021

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The Tragedy of Liberation by Frank Dikotter is chronologically book one of three in his People's Trilogy set. After having read the history of China by John Keay, my interest was piqued at learning what exactly happened after imperial China ended in 1911 with its last emperor. The short answer? Not good. Not good at all. This trilogy set does not cover in details the battle and history between the Nationalist led by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong's Communist China Party. Instead it begins a little before the CCP won in 1949 and afterwards up until The Great Famine in 1958 or so. The title of this book is so fitting as I'm sure you'll come to agree in the end as well. As a side warning, if you're currently depressed, reading this book is not recommended.

"Dead or alive, you will donate." - Head of the Peasant Association

Liberation is a very strong word in that when most people hear of it, they immediately think of it as a positive event. At least that's how I see it. To liberate something means to free it from oppression and slavery. But what if, as an ordinary civilian trying to live life and enjoying the fruits of your labor, have been caught between two sides of a very nasty civil war that has literally torn your province to shreds leaving you with nothing? Who is liberating who and does it actually matter as long as it will bring peace? Unfortunately for millions and millions of people, Mao Zedong's liberation is one that brought along with it mass violence, unrest, fear, uncertainty, doubt and killings that seems impossible to believe. The chapter on thought reform is especially brutal and hard to read. Physical pain through torture is one thing but how do you explain what goes on in a person's mind when being brainwashed and indoctrinated through "study sessions" day in and day out?

"You must hate even if you feel no hatred. You must kill even if you do not wish to kill."

Although information on Mao Zedong himself isn't the focal point of this series, we do get a good look at just how it was possible for him to command the entirety of China itself which is not so unlike the emperors during imperialism. As with every dictator, studying and learning of the tactics they use to obtain their goals and to remain in power is fascinating. Who would have thought that by just being vague in your orders can cause such chaos? It also highlights how Mao is a master at dividing and conquering. His program of denunciation and land reform is something that just has to be read. He conquered the people's mind and feasted on their fear and mistrust of others.

"My head is made of steel, bones and cement. It is beyond reform." - Liu Guoliao

Frank Dikotter did an amazing job writing this book. He uses many different sources to compile as accurate an picture as can be of what exactly happened during these beginning troubled years of China's transformation from imperialism into one of communism and socialism. Being a professor in a Hong Kong University, he actually knows how to teach and by that you won't have to worry about this book being difficult to read or follow. Each chapter is composed so that any reader can follow along. He rarely uses technical jargons that would need to be looked up in a dictionary. The tragedy, although this can hardly be the author's fault, is the many repeated details and accounts of tragic events happening to innocent citizens in the cities and in the countryside throughout what would seem to be every single chapter.

"Suicide was not easily accomplished...But nothing bred ingenuity quite like despair".

Prior to reading China history, I studied Germany and the Nazi's during World War II. It would be inaccurate of me to say which event is worst, especially since they happened relatively one after the other. However, it's sad to say that although the years covered in The Tragedy of Liberation was tragic enough already, we're just at the beginning. The Great Famine, which is what originally got me interested in these events, along with The Cultural Revolution still awaits.

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

M. McManus

Very good introduction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 10, 2019

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This book is part of a trilogy. The book is very readable popular history and not the densely packed text of more academic books. The book describes the very early stages of the Communist Party takeover of China. It describes well how they initially ingratiated themselves with the civilians. The chapter on the Korean War and how it strengthened Mao in the face of internal party criticism was the most interesting to me. The three books in the series flow well together, so it's best to buy all three.

One person found this helpful

tolkein

How Communist China was not liberated but enslaved

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

I had not realised just how corrupt and wicked the Chinese communist regime was, even from 1949 through to the mass murder of the Great Leap Forward. The book is full of details as well as narratives which could almost seem as though extracts from 1984. Read it and beware of the false promises of one party socialism.

3 people found this helpful

JIAJIA DUAN

Interesting story and rich material but also one-sided

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 9, 2020

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Dikötter provides a totally different version of chinese revolution and the liberation under the CCP control. We should always bear in mind that he is a stubborn anti-communist which means somehow he would ignore some material on purposes. But he is undeniably a great material collector who have assessed to many unavailable material in china and it all seems convincing. his book is very readable for unprofessional people.

3 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

As gruesome as any other episode of communist rule

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 8, 2022

Verified Purchase

Periods after the end of great wars tend to be glossed over. This book does justice to an awful era, in the way in which 'Bloodlands' does for the end of WWII in Europe. Excellent.

Wayne

A depressing but important read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 7, 2022

Verified Purchase

A bit dry but given the subject matter that's probably the only way it could be.

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