Living with Reform

China is huge. China is growing more powerful. Yet China remains a great mystery to most people in the West. This contemporary history, based on the latest scholarly research, offers a balanced perspective of the continuing legacy of Maoism in the lives not only of China's leaders but China's working people. It outlines the ambitious economic reforms taken since the 1980s and shows the complex responses to the consequences of reform in China today. Cheek shows the domestic concerns and social forces that shape the foreign policy of one of the worlds great powers. His analysis will equip the reader to judge media reports independently and to consider the experience and values not only of the Chinese government but China's workers, women, and minorities.

Timothy Cheek holds the Louis Cha Chair of Chinese Research in the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia. He is also editor of the journal, Pacific Affairs. His books include Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions (2002) and Propaganda and Culture in Mao's China (1997), as well as New Perspectives on State Socialism in China (1997) and The Secret Speeches of Chairman Mao (1989).

Preface - What Does Tiananmen Mean? 1. Making Sense: What is 'China'? 2. Living History: What was Maoism? 3. Reform: Mao is Dead, Long Live Mao! 4. Brave New World: Reform and Openness 5. Winners and Losers: Reaction to Reform 6. China in the World Today Conclusion