被扭曲的中國：誤導全世界的49個迷思

by Stig Stenslie, Marte Kjær Galtung, 吳國卿 (Translator)

國際知名中國問題專家黎安友（Andrew J. Nathan）教授強力推薦！
你真的了解中國嗎？
你對中國的印象，是耳聞眼見的事實，還是迷思？
共產主義在中國已名存實亡。中國企業將買下世界。
美國處處受制於中國。中國人只會模仿。
中國正在非洲殖民。毛澤東是隻大怪獸。
共產黨政權即將垮台。21世紀屬於中國，或其實不然？
別再用錯誤的刻板印象理解中國！
挪威國防參謀部中國研究專家執筆，
給你最客觀公允、最全方位的中國大評析！
關於共產黨、中國人民、企業與經濟、中國和世界、中國的歷史、未來，
本書以六大面向全面解構，解開外行人無法了解中國的迷思。
中國研究專家小高與史丹斯利在《被扭曲的中國：誤導全世界的49個迷思》一書裡，舉出49個有關中國過去、現在和未來常見的迷思，並檢視它們是真實或虛假。兩位作者帶領讀者進入一趟發人深省而有趣的旅程，拆解有關中國文化、社會、政治和經濟種種相當普遍的誤解。
兩位作者透過本書指出，有些迷思是中國人自己鼓勵了錯誤的認知，但有許多迷思實際上是西方人看待自己的投射，把中國或中國人描寫成西方人的反面。西方對這個東方帝國的認知，數世紀來在中國熱和中國恐懼症間擺盪，受到西方歷史改變的影響和中國本身的事件一樣多。這本正當其時和刺激思考的書，開啟一扇趣味十足而引人入勝的窗，讓讀者一窺這個常被誤解的新興強權。

Genres: China, Nonfiction, History

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A balanced approach to Western preconceptions about China, written in short, digestible chapters covering one idea at a time.

I read this book to gain a better understanding of a culture I know precious little about in any depth, and I came away with a much better idea of Chinese culture, and great tidbits for further thought and discussion.

It has credibility with clear references, and I enjoyed that it is written by Norwegians (rather than say, from an American or British standpoint) so felt more neutral in the presentation of arguments - many of the myths addressed are about China in comparison to the US.

The arguments are written in accessible language. I didn’t agree with all of them, but enjoyed the way the authors present their view concisely, provide references, and basically provoke me to challenge my prejudices.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a clearly written 2015 book by two Norwegian Asia-area government officials/academics, who attempt to debunk current myths/paranoia about China, and do so in a very even-handed, dispassionate manner. The book isn't without humor, though, and actually each essay is fun to read - despite conveying a lot of information (that could be dull) about China's economy, history and so forth.

As usual, there are tons of quotes:

From the Forward (by A.J. Nathan):
"The so-called China threat is such as shape-shifter -- to borrow a phrase from Karl Marx, a "specter haunting" the post-Cold War world American dominance--that it is hard to pin down what China threat theorists really fear."
"...key vulnerabilities in the [Chinese] economic model... ....include the heavy toll that environmental degradation is taking on the land, water air, and public health, rendering he current growth model unsustainable."
"Despite muscular repression, as old dissidents are jailed or exiled new dissidents keep cropping up, demanding fundamental change."

From the Introduction (which deals with the varying public perception of China over the last centuries):
"Confucianism... ...was in sync with Enlightenment ideals, which were critical of existing European institutions such as absolute monarchy, the aristocracy, and the dogmas of the christian church."
"The idea of a stagnating China was reproduced and elaborated in the works of intellectuals such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx."
"China was never directly colonized, but military force and occupation were used to open the Chinese market up to trade. Goods manufactured in Europe were exchanged for spices, silk, and porcelain."
"The Boxer Rebellion from 1898 to 1901 initially targeted Chinese and Western Christian missionaries but eventually aimed to eliminate all or most Western political and economic influence in China. ... Churches were burned."
"...toward the end of the [Second World] war, Americans knew more about China, and many had a positive view. The Chinese had, after all, once again fought with the Allies."
"China's participation in the Korean War, from 1950 to 1953, cemented its partnership with the Soviet Union. China also provided military support to the Communists in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, making relations with the United States and the West difficult. Between 1965 and 1970, 320,000 Chinese soldiers fought side by side with the North Vietnamese army against the Americans."
"The Tienanmen Square massacre in June 1989 .....coincided with the crumbling of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc... Western attention shifted to massive human rights violations in China."
"As the West wallowed in economic crisis, China overtly demonstrated its great power ambitions through grand celebrations like the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the sixtieth anniversary of the People's Republic in 2009."

From: Myth 1 - Communism is Dead in China
"In 1978, Mao's successor, Deng Xiaoping, removed "class struggle" from the official ideology of the People's Republic of China and introduced "socialism with Chinese characteristics." The goal was to replace rigid central planning with commercially oriented state enterprises, existing alongside a dynamic private sector."
"Mao's successor was highly pragmatic."
"...the party has neutralized all political rivals, established control over the courts, limited religious groups and civil society, composed an extensive network of internal monitoring and security services, and carried out "political reeducation" of detainees in labor camps."
"Communism is sacred and cannot be touched. This is because the regime uses ideology to legitimize its right to rule."

From: Myth 2 - China is Centrally Controlled
"China is in effect a federal state, says Professor Zheng Yongnian, Director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore. Power is decentralized, and the provinces have considerable autonomy."
"It is noteworthy that provinces have their own foreign policy, traditionally a concern of the state and the state alone."
"China's sheer size makes it impossible for the central government to implement all decisions effectively."

From: Myth 3 - The Leadership is Deeply Divided
"Disagreements do occur from case to case, but here seems to be broad agreement on the political course--that is, to continue the economic reforms initiated by Deng and, of course, to maintain the Communist Party's monopoly on power."
"...the leadership is unified by norms, including the ideal of collective leadership."
"...internal discipline is an important norm, as expected in a Leninist party. Disagreements are ideally resolved behind closed doors and never aired in public."

From: Myth 4 - The Communist Party is a Monolith
"Mao believed that here would always be either parties outside the ruling party or factions within."
"[In Chongqing:] As much as 87 percent of growth takes place in the public sector. Mao quotations are broadcast to people's mobile phones and on television instead of commercial breaks. Guangdong is the exact opposite of Chongqing."
"Political decision making in China is consensus based and very complex."

From: Myth 5 - The Military is Gaining Political Influence
"...in the words of Mao, "The Party commands the gun, and the gun must never be allowed to command the Party.""

From: Myth 6 - The Communist Regime Lacks Legitimacy
"...the party ensures order and stability at home. There are obvious parallels between the ways in which people judge today's leaders and the ways they judged the ancient emperors, according to political scientist Vivienne Shue at Oxford University."
"Under the party's leadership, the Chinese have experienced extraordinary economic growth."
"...there is reason to argue that the nation's pride has been restored under the Communist Party's rule."
"...there is ample reason to believe that many Chinese support the Communist Party."

From: Myth 7 - The Falun Gong is an Apolitical Movement Persecuted for its Religious Beliefs
"The members of these [religious] movements [such as the Buddhist White Lotus Movement, whose members rebelled during the Taiping Rebellion], which we would call cults today, had been so brainwashed by their charismatic leaders that many gladly died for their causes."

From: Myth 8 - Chinese Media is Merely a Mouthpiece of the Communist Party
"In...China...all media is owned by the state and journalists risk arrest when they write."
"Chinese media have been run according to market principles since the 1990s, even though media houses are owned by the Communist Party. The media houses have been told to make profits as the government cuts subsidies."
"All Chinese media houses are owned by the government, but by government at different levels."

From: Myth 9 - Chinese Culture is Incompatible with Democracy
"Some submit that democracy is incompatible with Confucian teachings emphasizing harmony and submission. Competition between different political parties and broad political participation are completely alien concepts."
"China is a one-party state that has never been a democracy. Fear of chaos there is undoubtedly real, not only among the leaders but also among the people, who have experienced invasions, upheavals, wars, and extreme political campaigns between the mid-nineteenth century and the present day."

From: Myth 11 - Chinese People are Not Altruistic
"Today it is every Chinese for him- or herself."
"A Chinese person on average earns a tenth of what an American does."
"For most of us, some form of egoism tends to underlie everything we do, even our charitable acts."

From: Myth 15 - Communism has Created Gender Equality in China
"Women hold up half the sky. - Mao Zedong"
"During the Mao era, Chinese authorities attempted to level their previously hierarchical society."
"Women and men alike dressed in the shapeless dark blue, dark green, or gray outfits known as Mao suits. These clothes eliminated visible physical gender differences and individuals characteristics--as uniforms are meant to do."
"Chinese women make up 46 percent of the labor force and a quarter of the country's entrepreneurs."
"No woman has ever been deemed worthy of a seat on he Politburo Standing Committee, China's most powerful organ..."

From: Myth 16 - The Chinese are Atheists
"Christianity is accepted within the framework of state-approved churches, but Catholic churches with bonds to the pope in Rome are not accepted and are sometimes dissolved."
"The Constitution of 1982 guarantees freedom of religion, but that applies only to the five approved religions: Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism..."
"Religion seems to fill the void left by the ebbing of Communist ideology and values."
"The world's largest Bible-printing factory is located in Nanjing, in the south of China. One in four of the word's new Bibles is printed here--in eighty different languages, including eight Chinese minority languages."

From: Myth 17 - Shanghai is More Liberal than Beijing
"There are many indications that the authorities in Beijing see a vibrant arts scene as a status symbol."
"Beijing is home to several political groups--some conservative, others liberal--competing among themselves for power."
"The political monotony among the leadership [in Shanghai] is reflected in the city's media ad art scenes."

From: Myth 18 - "China Inc." is Buying up the World
"...Chinese state-owned enterprises... are largely commercial firms, and most of them are listed on various stock exchanges. In China, these state enterprises are in intense competition with each other, a well as with private and foreign companies."
"Chinese authorities often struggle to control the state-owned enterprises."
"The Chinese are already among the largest groups of foreign students in Western countries, and a growing number of students are learning foreign languages at Chinese universities."

From: Myth 19 - China has the United States over a Barrel
"By keeping their currency, the renminbi (RMB) artificially low, the Chinese grow their own export industry to the detriment of American industry and jobs."
"[China and America] ...are highly dependent on each other."
"China depends on the Americans to maintain free trade, and American protectionism would be very harmful to Chinese industry. In addition, the US Navy ensures that Chinese goods can be transported safely across the seas."
"China is dependent on the financial system in which the US dollar is the world reserve currency and on the American bond market, long seen as a safe haven. The Chinese own significant amounts of dollars and treasury bonds, and if the value of these drops, as the Chinese are well aware, they will lose a lot of money."
"In the words of Chinese vice premier Wang Yang, "The economic relationship between China and the U.S. is like that of a romantic couple. A divorce, like [that of] Wendi Deng and Rupert Murdoch, would cost far too much.""

From: Myth 20 - China's Economy is Export Driven
"In 2009, [China's] ... exports dropped 20 percent, bu the economy grew 8 percent, indicating that here are other growth drivers besides exports."
"[Real]... investments represent more than 40 percent of the country's GDP. The Chinese government has invested enormously in infrastructure and heavy industry as the private sector has invested in light industry."


From: Myth 22 - Chinese Don't Take Risks
"Chinese companies make secrecy their mantra. The idea is to reveal as little as possible about yourself in order to protect valuable business secrets."
"...China today is a land or opportunity. "Today's China is very similar to America during the Gold Rush," note [Christopher K.] Hsee and [Elke U.] Weber."

From: Myth 23 - The Chinese are just Copycats
"The Chinese have a long tradition of copying, which is itself an esteemed art form. Painters often copied the works of earlier masters."
"Few of the most creative societies of the ancient world were free, including China, which invented paper, the compass, gunpowder, and the printing press. About two hundred years ago, the Industrial Revolution began and flourished in a Europe of limited political freedom."

From: Myth 24 - The State Hinders Economic Development in china
""China's growth record since 1978 is nearly unparalleled in human history, " according to Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics."
"Despite liberalization, the economy is still dominated by the state. Using state-owned banks, the state budget, and five-year plans, the Chinese government controls the direction of the economy. The state maintains tight control of land, labor, and capital. China still does not have private ownership of land. Free labor unions do not exist, which keeps wages down. Large state-owned banks dominate the capital market. China's stock market is dominated by state enterprises."
"China's economic policy to date can be defined as a success--and the Chinese government must be commended for its past and present growth-promoting role."
"...it was the state that laid the foundation for the astonishing economic growth that began in 1978. The state provided basic social infrastructure in terms of education and health care for workers."
"Even in the period after the mid-1980s, much suggests that domestic investments in education, agricultural research, and infrastructure have been the major engine behind poverty reduction, especially in rural areas."
"The very different experiences of China and Russia illustrate the advantages of a state-led economic restructuring and the disadvantages of a neoliberal strategy."
"With regard to economic performance, there is no doubt that China beats Russia: China's GDP was 60 percent of Russia's in 1991; a decade later Russia's GDP was 60 percent of China's."

From: Myth 26 - All Economic Development is Happening in the big Cities on the East coast
"The source of [Erdos (Inner Mongolia)'s]... wealth is its large coal deposits--a quarter of the world's total reserves."
"...average income for farmers nearly tripled between 2000 and 2010, according to official statistics."

From: Myth 27 - The Chinese are Racist
"The biggest development project in China's history was the construction of the TAZARA railway from Zambia to Tanzania in the 1970s."

From: Myth 28 - The Communist Party is Kindling Nationalism
""Appealing to nationalism is an easy way to score points with the public," says Yun Sun at the Brookings Institution."
"Nationalism is largely spontaneous and genuine and has been around much longer than the Communist Party, since as far back as the mid-nineteenth century."
"The Chinese leaders fear that demonstrations aimed at other countries might eventually turn against them, if the protesters feel that they do not safeguard national interests. ... In 1919 the May fourth Movement, disappointed by the Treaty of Versailles, protested against what it deemed an unpatriotic government. The movement was a precursor to the Communist Party and contributed to the fall of the government."

From: Myth 29 - China will once again dominate East Asia
"The backdrop for the Russian fear is the fact that 6 million Russians live east of the Urals, whereas Northeast China's population is 130 million."

From Myth 30 - China is Colonizing Africa
"Many people seem to forget that Chinese investments in resource extraction also benefit Africans."

From Myth 31 - China is an Environmental Baddie
"China focuses particularly on saving energy and developing renewable energy sources, a sector in which China leads the world."
"China already has the word's largest capacity for renewable energy -- that capacity having increased by 92 percent between 2006 and 2011."
"[China] ...has also acceded to the target of limiting global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius."
"The [Chinese] government realizes the need for international cooperation to address the threat of climate change."

From: Myth 32 - The Chinese could tame North Korea--If they Wanted to
"China and North Korea have been blood brothers since the 1950-1953 Korean War, during which about 170,000 Chinese died."

From: Myth 33 - China does not Interfere in Other States' Internal Affairs
"...the [noninterference] doctrine is in conflict with the need to secure Chinese interests abroad for citizens and businesses -- interests that have soared as a result of China's economic growth."
"China is becoming more and more dependent on developments in other countries and must protect its growing interests abroad--both its investments and expatriate Chinese nationals."

From: Myth 34 - China's History Spans Five Millennia
"As revolutionary and ideological messages have been toned down during the thirty-year reform period, the party has had to search for other ways to justify its monopoly on power--something larger and more worthy than economic growth. One solution is to portray the People's Republic as a natural continuation of China's proud five-thousand-year-old tradition. The myth also fits well with China's growing nationalism."

From: Myth 35 - China is Called the middle Kingdom Because Chinese People Believe their country is the Center of the World
"After the Han Dynasty was established in 206 BC... The empire was stable, and the imperial administration could focus on social progress. Philosophy and literature flourished. China's first educational institutions were established, and Chinese inventors produced the first paper, the first steel, and the first compass. Trade with Western countries was blooming, and Chinese traders made fortunes selling silk to the Roman Empire."

From: Myth 36 - China Discovered the World in 1421
"Chinese cartography--of the territory that the Chinese had actually mapped--was indeed advanced. These maps were also probably the first to include geographic symbols for important landmarks and points such as cities, main roads, and military bases."
"The Chinese explorers started using the compass for navigation sometime between the ninth and eleventh centuries, having invented the magnetic compass as a device for divination as early as 200 to 300 BC."
"China during he Ming Dynasty was the world's leading maritime state. The voyages that the Chinese embarked on were unequaled, surpassing Western, Arab, and Indian expeditions in size and complexity."

From: Myth 37 - All Women were Oppressed in Ancient China
"Confucianism was a reflection of the society's patriarchal organization. A woman's place was in the "inner chambers," and her feet were bound to ensure that she remained there. ... In ancient, or imperial, china, women had no legal rights, no right to own property, and no rights within the family."
"The [May Fourth Movement] ... founded by students on 4 May 1919, sought a radical break with the past and called the recently fallen Qing dynasty feudal, static, and rotten. A new, modern China was to be built. The May Fourth Movement linked women's liberation to Marxist and Leninist theories of class revolution. Women were to be freed from feudal social structures--just like peasants and workers. Not surprisingly, there were close ties between the May Fourth Movement and China's Communist Party, which was established in 1921."
"In Chinese history many prominent women have made their mark."

[Jasmin Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Each myth is analysed objectively. The answers are short and to the point. Provides alternative perspectives to what the media tells us.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The '49 myths' idea gave a good and credible structure for exploring various aspects of China's culture, politics and economy. It obviously didn't give lengthy detailed analysis of every issue, but the standard of the writing and analysis was good. It was interesting, and seemed balanced, not at all sensationalist. It was challenging to think through these 49 ideas about China that have crept into ordinary understanding, and to have them not necessarily blown out of the water, but certainly better nuanced and reshaped by a more careful consideration of the issues involved.

[Thomas Ray]

DS706 .G3413 2015 College Library Rm. 1191

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years ago when I was a student at Hope College, I enrolled in a year long study of the history of China taught by a Dr. Van Putten who had lived in China before the downfall so I have always been interested in this country. This book is a short synopsis of 49 myths about the country, it's peoples and policies. I found this study to be interesting and informative, I found this study by two Norwegians to have a different view than from an American view and I found this aspect to be most interesting, Each section is short so one does not get bogged down in an overloaded details.