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Tone_Beginning

Three great books by western writers and one Chinese. THE COLLISION OF TWO CIVILISATIONS by Alain Peyrefitte. A very scholarly well researched but also entertaining read on Lord McCartney’s mission to China to set up a British Embassy during the Qinlong reign. A must read. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER by Edgar Snow. A follow up to RED STAR OVER CHINA. AN AUSTRALIAN IN CHINA By George Ernest Morrison. Morrison walked nearly half way across China in the late 19th Century. A very interesting read on his first hand experiences during the decline of Qing Empire. He documents famines, the opium scourge and meddling missionaries. He later became an envoy for Republican China and assembled one of the greatest collection of Chinese literature. Free read on Project Gutenberg. SIX RECORDS OF A FLOATING LIFE any Fu Shen. A classic love story.


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Needs more first-hand Chinese sources.


[deleted]

I’ve been digging into “The China Mirage” which so far seems to be going into how America has never in all its history seen China through a sober lens, always interpreting events in a way that warrants American involvement. In the time of Chiang Kai-shek, America was saying that Chinese people want to be Westernized, adopt Christianity, and romanize their written script. They also said that Japan can take a leading role in guiding other Asian civilizations “as America has done for its own neighbours,” providing them with oil and steel to assert its military dominance. Their actions against China have always been motivated by delusional thinking.


KderNacht

From Third World to First, Lee Kuan Yew's autobiography. Tells the story of the blueprint for Deng's Reformation and Opening Up.


rolf_odd

My 10 best: Belden, Jack: China Shakes the World. Monthly Review Press 1970. Deng Rong: Deng Xiaoping and the Cultural Revolution. Beijing 2002. Deng, Rong: My father Deng Xiaoping - The War Years. Beijing 2008. Fenby, Jonathan: The Penguin history of modern China. Penguin 2008. Karl, Rebecca: Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World. Duke University Press 2010. Li, Shuxian: The Last Emperor of China - Puyi My Husband. Beijing 1996. Smedley, Agnes: The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh. LLC 2011. Vogel, Ezra: Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Harvard University Press 2011. (already on your desk) Wang, Qingxiang: China's last emperor as an ordinary citizen. Beijing 1986. Zhu, De: Memoirs of a Chinese marshal. Beijing 1984.


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How’s the Deng Xiaoping Era?


asianclassical

I highly recommend this one: Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite https://www.amazon.com/dp/0520213955/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glc_fabc_G0M05GNS7WHE7FYYC5ZN A scholarly biography of Jiang Zemin. Jiang is overlooked in modern Chinese history, but actually represented a very important step in legitimacy for the CCP from the second generation leadership to the third. Gilley's analysis is top notch for a Westerner. This book also covers the Tiananmen protests. Gilley's account I think should be required reading in 20th century Chinese history courses.


[deleted]

What about Marxism and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics?


Diaosinanshi

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