Turning Point in China

by William Hinton

Book by Hinton, William

Genres: China, History, Politics, Asia, Theory, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Yngve Skogstad]

I was so ecstatic after reading Hinton's first book, Fanshen, that I immediately went to libgen and downloaded this as a pdf, and dove straight into it. In contrast to said work, this one is not based on extensive on-the ground experience of the matters at hand, and accordingly lacks the specificity (the personal stories and conversations, the contradictions as they concretely manifested) that made Fanshen so great. This is a different format, and that's fine, but even for what it is I found it overly dogmatic and polemical. The pamphlet sure doesn't hold back when it comes to denounciations of particulat people and positions, but is certainly lacking in terms of an elaboration on how people came to these different positions. I'm not sure his account of the Cultural Revolution made all that much sense to me. It just seemed very chaotic and confusing altogether. How anyone would know which the "real Red Guards" were, which were conspiratorial agents, and which were well-meaning, but misguided "ultra-leftists", I don't know. As Hinton wasn't there at the time, I don't buy that he can really know either.

I'm planning on reading The Unknown Cultural Revolution: Life and Change in a Chinese Village. Will check back and see if this seems more coherent after that.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turning Point in China is a shorter work by William Hinton. It was good, like all of his work. It is based on a lecture that he gave to various U.S. universities while on a speaking tour in 1970-1971. The essay deals with the differing historiographical interpretations of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the West (particularly in America) from the 1960's and 70's. What's sad and startling is that many of these same idealist and nonsensical arguments are still slung about by die-hard anti-communists and cold war enthusiasts. Hinton does a wonderful job of pointing out the inherent ideology inconsistencies in liberal interpretations of the Cultural Revolution as some "power struggle" in a "power vacuum" that was unleashed by an "insane and radical" Mao Zedong. The author was highly enthusiastic at the time of the book's writing. Little did he know that soon enough after this he would be denouncing the turn that the CCP had taken in 1976 in leaving behind the socialist road.

[_Liebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

the most frustrating thing is not knowing what 'the correct line' means; there is a missing piece in any statement that doesnt develop this idea. hinton does alright with it.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cultural Revolution is something I am only vaguely familiar with. This was a book that I obtained from one of the war college libraries back in the day. Recently I decided to start burning down some of my China To Read list.

Firstly, this book was written by a communist through and through. In his act as a communist apologist, he wrote this book highlighting the Cultural Revolution as a benign form of morphing from the last vestiges of capitalist China to socialist then communist China. He discussed the riots and political struggles amongst the Chinese hierarchy. He discussed how Mao moved the Chinese people from capitalism to communism. It must be remembered, the communist Chinese takeover of China was for the most part a military operation against the forces of Chiang Kai Sheik. Just because the communists won did not mean that communism had been fully embraced by millions of people. The Cultural Revolution describes how socialism and communism overcame the mores of capitalism in China.

Since this book was written by a communist, he has naturally left out some of the grisly facts of the Cultural Revolution. The deaths of 30 million or so people is not mentioned in this book. Also not mentioned is the communist tendency to purge or re-educate those who do not embrace communism. Communist governments rank right up there with the most despicable of dictatorships. The Gulags of Stalin, the Pol Pot killing fields of Cambodia, and of course the untold millions dead in China. Communism equates to a police state where you and your loved ones can disappear in the night far easier than in any Capitalist nation. I always wondered if communism was a workers utopia, then why did a communist government require an internal police force similar to Saddam Hussein's?

Overall, I learned quite a bit. I understand more about socialism and communism now. I understand a trifling more about the Cultural Revolution. I also realize this book is merely an advertisement pamphlet of communism and is only that and not much more.