Twentieth Century China: A History in Documents

Pages from History

by R. Keith Schoppa

The twentieth century was a time of great change in China's government, economy, culture, and everyday life. Twentieth Century China , Second Edition, chronicles this period of revolutions and uprisings with the words and images of the participants. This is the story of the people--leaders and followers--whose decisions propelled modern Chinese history in erratic directions. Using a wide variety of primary sources, including official reports and public statements, articles, political posters, cartoons, poetry, songs, and advertisements, R. Keith Schoppa paints a picture of a society undergoing drastic changes, both social and political. Mao Zedong's personal physician recalls the phenomenon of backyard steel furnaces and the changes they brought to the Chinese landscape during Mao's Great Leap Forward; a poem written in 1979 expresses anger toward a general who destroyed a kindergarten to build a mansion on its site; and the box from the Chinese version of Monopoly, introduced in
1987, playfully illustrates the economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin.

This second edition of Twentieth Century China also includes an updated introduction with a note on sources and interpretation, thirty-seven new sidebars, twelve new photographs, and updated further reading and websites.

Genres: History

214 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2004

Reviews

[Ian McHugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really useful 'primer' for 20th Century Chinese History. Commentary is simple and concise and sources will be very useful for any student looking for primary material. My slight criticism is that, in places, I thought the tone was quite deferential and sympathetic to some of the more questionable actions of the Communist regime in China - the section on Mao a case in point.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading history told through a thread of primary documents. I find the commentaries between the documents instrumental in bridging the time and plot gaps between the events. I also find the format useful in giving the reader a taste of tangible historical Zeitgeist without losing the general trend. There were some errors with regards to the titles of documents but nothing major. I would love to read more history written in this format. Excellent for students of Chinese history, especially for understanding the main thread and branching out into specific events.