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China and the New Maoists
Forty years after his death, Mao remains a totemic, if divisive, figure in contemporary China. Though he retains an immense symbolic importance within China’s national mythology, the rise of a capitalist economy has seen the ruling class become increasingly ambivalent towards him. And while he continues to be a highly visible and contentious presence in Chinese public life, Mao's enduring influence has been little understood in the West. In China and the New Maoists , Kerry Brown and Simone van Nieuwenhuizen look at the increasingly vocal elements who claim to be the true ideological heirs to Mao, ranging from academics to cyberactivists, as well as at the state's efforts to draw on Mao’s image as a source of legitimacy. This is a fascinating portrait of a country undergoing dramatic upheavals while still struggling to come to terms with its past.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 15, 2016
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About the author
Kerry Brown
85 books76 followersKerry Brown is an author, columnist, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King's College, London.
*From Kerry's Website.*: Prior to this he was the Professor of Chinese Politcs and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He led the Europe China Research and Advice Network(ECRAN) funded by the European Union from 2011 to 2014. He is an Associate Fellow on the Asia Programme at Chatham House, London. His main interests are in the politics and society of modern China, in its international relations and its political economy.
Educated at Cambridge (MA), London (Post Graduate Diploma in Chinese with Distinction) and Leeds Universities (Ph D), he worked in Japan and the Inner Mongolian region of China,before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London in 1998. He worked in the China Section and then served as First Secretary, Beijing, from 2000 to 2003, and Head of the Indonesia East Timor Section at the FCO from 2003 to 2005.
Kerry Brown has been published in most major newspapers, commenting on China and Asia, including the New York Times, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Australian Financial Review, the Australian, the South China Morning Post, and the Financial Times. He has also been interviewed since 2006 by the BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, Bloomberg, ABC and other outlets. He had undertaken consultancy for Mizuho Bank, BP, Oxford Analytica, Hakluyt, Tesco and other corporates.
*From Kerry's Website.*: Prior to this he was the Professor of Chinese Politcs and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He led the Europe China Research and Advice Network(ECRAN) funded by the European Union from 2011 to 2014. He is an Associate Fellow on the Asia Programme at Chatham House, London. His main interests are in the politics and society of modern China, in its international relations and its political economy.
Educated at Cambridge (MA), London (Post Graduate Diploma in Chinese with Distinction) and Leeds Universities (Ph D), he worked in Japan and the Inner Mongolian region of China,before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London in 1998. He worked in the China Section and then served as First Secretary, Beijing, from 2000 to 2003, and Head of the Indonesia East Timor Section at the FCO from 2003 to 2005.
Kerry Brown has been published in most major newspapers, commenting on China and Asia, including the New York Times, The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Australian Financial Review, the Australian, the South China Morning Post, and the Financial Times. He has also been interviewed since 2006 by the BBC, Al Jazeera, CNN, Bloomberg, ABC and other outlets. He had undertaken consultancy for Mizuho Bank, BP, Oxford Analytica, Hakluyt, Tesco and other corporates.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 25, 2018
For anyone who is familiar with studies of present day China, the word Maoist may occur as a major alarm bell. An outsider may assume that this, by definition, means any adherent of CCP ideology, however, the reality is that the CCP have largely buried Mao’s system of governance, so therefore, a Maoist is essentially a nostalgist for the practices prevalent under Mao’s day, or a left leaning critic of the current government.
Why does this matter? Because, as Deng Xiaoping asserted, though rightwing deviations are dangerous, the greatest danger came from excessive veering to the left. For many Chinese, this is the great bogeyman that invokes fear whenever it is mentioned, and it’s use is selective, such as Wen Jiaboa’s invocation when making an oblique reference to Bo Xilai (just prior to his ouster).
As the book contends, a Maoist is a rather incoherent designation, but it manifests itself in the form of either ultra-nationalism, critiques of inequality and China’s current economic model, and an inclination toward mass campaigns.
Kerry approaches the book in the form of six chapters. The first is somewhat unrelated to the general discussion, but sets background, the case of a Cultural Revolution victim who was to her last breath an avid supporter of Mao but was persecuted for her criticism of Jiang Qing. The second chapter details the party’s accomodation of Mao; a troubled marriage wherein his msitakes are acknowledged and his economic system completely repudiated, but nonetheless retains the towering status as founder of the PRC. This, we are told by the Party, matters above all else as without Mao there would be no modern China, and therefore no prosperity.
The third chapter examines diehard Mao apologists, and the strand of thinking behind the critiques of post 1978 reforms, before progressing to the fourth chapter and the case of Bo Xilai, his flirtation with Neo-Maoism, and his subsequent downfall. The last two chapters look at Mao’s place in Chinese society today.
To those familiar with Kerry Brown’s previous works such as New Emperors and more importantly, CEO China: The Rise of Xi Jinping, the possibility of any kind of Maoist Renaissance would be deeply unsettling to the Party, hence the purge of Bo Xilai. As Kerry writes in CEO China “If one of Xi’s colleagues were ever to try to appeal to the Maoist inheritance, and succeed in gaining internal and public traction, then Xi would be in deep trouble. Brown, Kerry (2016-04-30). CEO, China: The Rise of Xi Jinping (Kindle Locations 2559-2560). I.B.Tauris. Kindle Edition..
As that comment left me curious as to why the specter of Maoism is such a terrifying one, even for a Party that claims his lineage, this book adequately answered any questions Brown’s previous works left unanswered on this subject.
As such, it is an immensely readable and penetrating insight into the specter of Mao that leaves an unsettling presence throughout China today.
Why does this matter? Because, as Deng Xiaoping asserted, though rightwing deviations are dangerous, the greatest danger came from excessive veering to the left. For many Chinese, this is the great bogeyman that invokes fear whenever it is mentioned, and it’s use is selective, such as Wen Jiaboa’s invocation when making an oblique reference to Bo Xilai (just prior to his ouster).
As the book contends, a Maoist is a rather incoherent designation, but it manifests itself in the form of either ultra-nationalism, critiques of inequality and China’s current economic model, and an inclination toward mass campaigns.
Kerry approaches the book in the form of six chapters. The first is somewhat unrelated to the general discussion, but sets background, the case of a Cultural Revolution victim who was to her last breath an avid supporter of Mao but was persecuted for her criticism of Jiang Qing. The second chapter details the party’s accomodation of Mao; a troubled marriage wherein his msitakes are acknowledged and his economic system completely repudiated, but nonetheless retains the towering status as founder of the PRC. This, we are told by the Party, matters above all else as without Mao there would be no modern China, and therefore no prosperity.
The third chapter examines diehard Mao apologists, and the strand of thinking behind the critiques of post 1978 reforms, before progressing to the fourth chapter and the case of Bo Xilai, his flirtation with Neo-Maoism, and his subsequent downfall. The last two chapters look at Mao’s place in Chinese society today.
To those familiar with Kerry Brown’s previous works such as New Emperors and more importantly, CEO China: The Rise of Xi Jinping, the possibility of any kind of Maoist Renaissance would be deeply unsettling to the Party, hence the purge of Bo Xilai. As Kerry writes in CEO China “If one of Xi’s colleagues were ever to try to appeal to the Maoist inheritance, and succeed in gaining internal and public traction, then Xi would be in deep trouble. Brown, Kerry (2016-04-30). CEO, China: The Rise of Xi Jinping (Kindle Locations 2559-2560). I.B.Tauris. Kindle Edition..
As that comment left me curious as to why the specter of Maoism is such a terrifying one, even for a Party that claims his lineage, this book adequately answered any questions Brown’s previous works left unanswered on this subject.
As such, it is an immensely readable and penetrating insight into the specter of Mao that leaves an unsettling presence throughout China today.
October 25, 2021
Another excellent book by Kerry Brown. The best ting about Kerry’s works are that they are deeply informed but pithy, allowing the reader to go from book to book and mass an eclectic foundation of Chinese-related issues. He then often gives brilliant suggestions for further reading. Thankfully there are still many more Kerry Brown books to work my way through!
February 27, 2017
To be reread
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews