Book: The Search for Modern China
Author: Jonathan D. Spence (Ph.D. in History, Yale 1965)
ISBN: 0-393-30780-8
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Pub. Date: October 2001
Pages: 876pp
Review by: Simeon Trieu
Synopsis
The Search for Modern China is about the journey the Chinese have taken throughout history. Although Chinese history spans thousands of years and ranks among some of the oldest countries with deep rich histories, the relevant information (at least in Spence’s eyes) start from the Ming dynasty and end in the present day just beyond the Tiananmen Square incident. The book is intended to give readers an overall view of the subject, not necessarily focused on any particular event but rather how each event influenced both related events and future events. I’m sure that given the proper scope, Spence could expound on any one of the points in his book.
Overall Impressions
For a long time, I’ve wanted to read this book by Jonathan D. Spence, and while I ordered it several months ago, it has been sitting in the queue. When I saw this book on the reading list for Cal Poly’s MBA Trip, I jumped on the opportunity to enrich my knowledge of Chinese history with this book. Spence has all the right credentials: Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, Ph.D. in History from Yale in 1965, a MacArthur Fellow in July 1988, and an entourage of books such as Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K’ang-hsi, The Gate of Heavenly Peace, The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuqian, and many others. (Not to mention sharp wit, which shows through his writing)
If one wanted to encapsulate how China got to where it is now without having to do a Ph.D. dissertation on the matter, this would be the definitive book to read. The book’s structure is purely overview, and while it doesn’t go into detail on any particular event, it makes up for that by the sheer volume of information that amazingly relates to each other as one thread of thought. It is daunting to know that to even approach the subject, Spence admits that "it is only by starting at [the late Ming dynasty] that I feel we can get a full sense of how China’s current problems have arisen…" (Spence xx) However, Spence will lead you by the hand, and will in fact jerk you forward into a text that is suprisingly not dry for a history book (it’s very wet, in fact). I laughed while reading, as Spence points out some of the ironies in the past history of China!
The Book’s Contribution to Knowledge
This book adds a great history book to the world’s collection of literature, specifically on the topic of modern Chinese history from the late Ming dynasty to the current People’s Republic of China (PRC). The book starts in the late Ming dynasty, moves towards their eventual conquer by Manchurians from the north (the Jurchen), the fall of the last dynasty, and then the modern era. The modern era is broken up into the effects of fragmentation after the fall of the last dynasty, the formation of the future leaders of the state, the evolution of the Nationalist party and the China Communist Party (CCP), the power struggle won by the CCP, and the eventual policies and reforms that took place since their inception of the CCP.
A Summary of the Positive Highlights
1. A "Picture Book":
Not that this book was juvenile by any means, but it was definitely a "picture book", in the sense that it provided a set of photographs, artwork, and writings to make the reading come alive. It is difficult to assess the feelings of the people without the pictures, as they provide some of the most vivid details of the author or artist’s soul. The essence of these pictures is the missing link between Spence’s words and the reader’s understanding.
2. Good Flow
Spence flows well in both structure and relatedness. It is easy to get lost in the plethora of details in The Search for Modern China, and I was pleased that Spence never let me get lost in them. It must have helped that each event was condensed into short paragraphs that were easily digestible. I remember reading about the history of the war between the Guomindang (Nationalists) and the CCP, and the sheer volume of information about military tactics, politics, economics, tragedies, and people were staggering. Fortunately, each event was bite sized and didn’t take too long to explain. This really helped in keeping the focus on the overall war, where Mao was fleeing to in Sichuan, and not the miry details of how Chiang Kai-Shek routed Mao’s troops into the Sichuan province, for example. Spence keeps an excellent "Big Picture" view all tied together in a common thread.
3. Not everyone is a history major
Spence knows that not everyone appreciates being thrown into a million details and not knowing where to go. Frequent reminder notes, after a person’s name is repeatedly mentioned, help the reader to follow and track Spence’s thought process on how the person related to past events and what he or she is most known for. To further clarify matters, Spence provides an overview of each section for the reader to digest the overall situation before heading into the details.
A Summary of the Negative Highlights
1. Spence’s Matter-of-fact Tone
Spence writes in a matter-of-fact tone throughout the book. He has his moments where he quips, poking fun at the irony of how history repeats itself or flip-flops. However, throughout the reading of this book, I have taken the liberty to ask many Chinese about what they thought of Spence’s points. For example, when mentioning the crisis in Nanjing where tens of thousands were massacred in World War II, Spence devotes only one small paragraph with a general tag line of "a period of terror and destruction that must rank among the worst in the history of modern warfare." (Spence 448) However, Spence never goes into the fact that the ramifications of this event produced much of the anti-Japanese sentiment in the modern day. Similar arguments can be made about the border disputes with India, and the advancement of Chinese technology with the aid of Russia.
2. Leaves the Reader with Much to Be Desired
Due to the scope of the book, Spence did a good job of linking events together and keeping topics concise. However, it can still be difficult to follow and also leaves the reader with much to be desired. For example, in the section about "Planning the New Society" showed much of the country’s unfortunate fiscal nightmares. The CCP, unlike the nationalists, opted to sell government bonds and encouraged "contributions". (Spence 545) However, how is that different from what the Nationalists did by borrowing large sums from powerful creditors or issuing new notes? Spence never expounds upon this particular issue, and it made the section difficult to read and understand. Also, what about the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square? Spence doesn’t fully explain why the students chose American democracy as their model of reform. It is again stated in a very matter-of-fact way, without much elaboration. Maybe it’s the scope of the book, but it could be better detailed with at least the motivations for why the people chose certain government models over another.
3. Failed to Give Projections
I was very disappointed in Spence here. The book is cut off abruptly shortly after the Tiananmen Square incident. Spence closes with words like "…but they now reverberated to a new kind of challenge…" or "There would be no truly modern China until the people were given back their voices." (Spence 747) Okay, but how are does the future "reverberate a new kind of challenge", and how are the people going to be "given back their voices"? With a deep background in Chinese history, this book would have benefited greatly if Spence had given the readers his insight into how he thinks China will develop. The book’s publishing date is October 2001. I think that a 5 or 10 year projection could at least be in order here. There is another edition of this book that I didn’t pick up (I have the older published book). So, maybe Spence has related more on the issues I have raised, but I have not yet seen the newer book to confirm.
4. Where are the current events?
For a "modern history" book, I am a little disappointed with how little current events are in it. The Tiananmen Square incident is from 1989. Surely, in this information age, there are significant details talk about from the 1990’s. I suspect that Spence figured this book was long enough. I’m sure he could keep writing as newer events surfaced, but for the sake of brevity and completion, details past this major event were left out. However, one detail was missing: How China is coming to power. I am left with a desire to know more about this topic, but it appears as this book has shown me very little about China’s manufacturing, current foreign relations with major world powers, and the rising middle class. Although, in the author’s defense, the book does give me a good overall understanding of why China’s government makes the decisions they do. For example, the Falun Gong cult is suppressed, not because they want to limit freedom of religion or abuse human rights, but rather, it’s because throughout Chinese history, factions that start small tend to gain momentum quickly and can turn the Chinese nation towards civil war and other conflicts. Examples of this are the conflicts between the Guomindang and the CCP, Tiananmen Square, aggression with the Japanese that resulted in the Rape of Nanjing, and the wildly abused corruption throughout all ranks of government.
Closing Thoughts
Growing from a mere 20 million to a whopping 1.5 billion people, China has many problems related to resources being taxed to heavily, possible uprising on a massive scale, and difficulty with keeping order. If I have learned on thing from this book, it is that the Chinese are often dissatisfied with the current form of government and are willing to even overthrow it in a violent military coup to gain what they think will be a better life. However, the grass is not always greener on the other side of the dynasty or party. The reason that the CCP does so well in managing people is because they are staunch and strict about their policies. How do you control 1.5 billion people? You must limit freedoms and manage without managing.
Even with the shortcomings of this book, I do not think for a moment that Spence hasn’t broadened my perspective of China by a great deal. I am definitely more interested in reading another of Spence’s books, as well as other history books on other cultures. It would be interesting to see how a historian from another focus, such as India, looks at China and India’s relations with China.
Although Spence didn’t write a projection as to the future of China, I think one of the quotes on communist propaganda from one of China’s best-known professors of Peking University’s College of Science and Technology summed up China’s current state: "…propaganda’s greatest problem has been that it has had far too narrow an interpretation–not only too narrow but too shallow. I, too, am a member of the Communist Party, but my dreams are not so narrow. They are of a more open society, where differences are allowed (Spence 722-723)." Since China’s openness to a capitalist, market based ideology vs. the Marxist/Lenninist ideology, they have done extremely well in the global arena, overturning their paltry GDP in comparison to other developed nations into a leading and accelerating global economy. The more China opens up to new ways of thinking, while keeping the benefits that the CCP have introduced since the mid 1900’s, the more they will prosper as a country.