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Testament to Courage
| Article
# : |
19603 |
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Section : |
BOOK WORLD
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| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1991 |
2,241 Words |
| Author
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Harold C. Hinton
Harold C. Hinton is a professor of political science and
international affairs at the Institute for Sino-Soviet
Studies, George Washington University. His latest book is
Korea under New Leadership: The Fifth Republic. Several of his
books will be published soon, including China's Long Ascent:
The Foreign Policy of a Dissatisfied Power. |
Chinese reformers used to speak of their country's traditional culture as a man-eater. They meant this generically; it was above all a woman-eater. Probably never have so many suffered so much, and it isn't over.
That this condition has changed less than might be expected during the past century reminds us of an observation made by a British official in the nineteenth century. The Chinese are the most rebellious and least revolutionary people in the world.
The backdrop
To be sure, there has been a series of upheavals in twentieth-century China, two of which (those of 1911 and 1949) are conventionally called revolutions. But these episodes have not really broken the grip on Chinese society of its ancient enemies, prominent among which is the domination of women by men and of both by self-appointed leaders. Like other post-World War II movements in Asia, the communist revolution of 1949 drew its force from a revulsion against foreign influence, mainly Japanese, but was followed by the communists' acceptance of another form of foreign influence, Stalin's. Since the Soviet Union, unlike imperial Japan, had enough sense not to invade China, its influence has not been rejected by the Chinese with the same vehemence, and some Soviet elements persist, mainly in the political style and organizational approach of the communist leadership.
Another reason that China never became Moscow's model was the leadership of the nativist Mao Zeroing, who resisted Soviet influence and grew increasingly radical during the two decades preceding his death in 1976. Under Mao's misguidance, the Chinese people were plunged into two titanic convulsions, the Great Leap Forward (1958-60) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-68, although the official terminal date is 1976). Soon after Mao's death, a more pragmatic leader, Deng Xiaoping, came to power. Deng's tenure has been stained by his resolute refusal, illuminated for the world by the muzzle flashes at Tiananmen Square in June 1989, to yield or even share power, as other communists to the west of China have had to do.
It is against this colossal backdrop that the story told in this fascinating, often horrifying, book unfolds. Wild Swan's references to the backdrop are numerous, interesting, and nearly always accurate. Sometimes they contain credible information, not generally known outside China, which will be welcome to China watchers. Most of it, of course, is familiar, while very well told: the sufferings of
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