What do you think?
Rate this book
Governing China: From Revolution Through Reform
Governing China: From Revolution to Reform , the leading text for courses on Chinese politics has been thoroughly revised and updated. The new Second Edition includes discussions of: The consumer revolution that has brought China’s major urban areas to the forefront of the developed world and created a new middle class An expanding private sector that has become the major generator of new employment in the overall economy as the state sector has shed jobs The increase in foreign direct investment which has set China on track to becoming the manufacturing center of the world. An enormous population migration from rural to urban areas and from the interior to the coast that is becoming one of the most massive movements of people in human history, and its significant impact on the environment The unprecedented integration into the international economic system as China has joined virtually every major multilateral regime The reactions of the top and the bottom of the political system to these recent developments and the continuing struggles between the government’s large bureaucratic structures and sporadic popular political movements.
498 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1995
22 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth G. Lieberthal
15 books9 followersKenneth Guy Lieberthal is an expert on China's elite politics, political economy, domestic and foreign policy decision making, and on the evolution of US-China relations.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 23, 2016
A very interesting and accurate text of Chinese history and the themes which have shaped the current century. While many seem to idealize and criminalize the characters representing ideology, Lieberthal does a wonderful job describing them as the people they were, the conflicts they inspired, and their motivations to drive the country in the bizarre manner of China through the last century.
The reason I docked it a star was because I felt the section on Women and China, while somewhat accurate, missed the point of the positives that came out of the Maoist period. I won't use this forum to discuss this unrelated topic other than to say the alternative argument is actually equally as compelling. His treatment of this one topic in this manner is striking in a book that is more fair than most in its depiction of the weirdness that was China during the last century.
I would definitely consider assigning this book for a classroom, but would consider adding alternative opinion pieces to certain sections.
The reason I docked it a star was because I felt the section on Women and China, while somewhat accurate, missed the point of the positives that came out of the Maoist period. I won't use this forum to discuss this unrelated topic other than to say the alternative argument is actually equally as compelling. His treatment of this one topic in this manner is striking in a book that is more fair than most in its depiction of the weirdness that was China during the last century.
I would definitely consider assigning this book for a classroom, but would consider adding alternative opinion pieces to certain sections.
December 5, 2013
Wrote a paper about it; Lieberthal is actually a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute:
This book is strong in its depiction of the history of modern China and its influences on the China of today. There was a good sense of the chaos that China had to endure during the warring states period (1912-1919), the bloodshed during the time of the GMD, and how the communists were able to overthrow the GMD via Japan’s invasion. The writing becomes weak because of lack of clarification. For example, in the chapter on “Formal Organizational Structure,” the author never explains the ambiguous “elite” is and who they are, which stands in sharp contrast to the figures he presented before, like Mao or Dr. Sun. If these leaders are so important to local economy—as he has stated, the smaller, more local government has more power than a large congress (173, 181)—then why is it that he never gives their titles?
He remarked that the “actual organization of the central party and state apparatus is ... vastly more complex than this basic outline conveys,” (177) and so, arguably, is the U.S. government. His citations support his framework, but his rationale and overabundance of generalities fail to prove true. He regurgitates albeit updated information about modern Chinese history through Deng Xiaoping’s successor, but appears to struggle after Hu Jintao’s rise to power. Lieberthal writes nothing of Hu Jintao’s policies or influence in the government after his section on “The Prospects for Elite Succession” before his dry chapter on China’s political system.
Lieberthal did what he had set out to do: provide an overview of the Chinese government. However he left questions unanswered about who the people of the Chinese government are and what drives them. His historical overview in the beginning and middle of the book was specific and detailed about the leaders of government through each stage in modern China, especially about what led them to be leaders, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping in particular. The explanation of the current organizational structure of the Party and the Center described the breadth of the positions, their level of power, and scope of influence. He never names who is in charge, how they arrived there, or why they choose the policies they do. He does, however, go into detail about their “Techniques for Making the System Work” (188-199). Lieberthal makes clear the state is corrupt (197), is fragmented by a “Matrix Muddle” (186-188), and dominates society (199). A chart would have been helpful because even Lieberthal admits that this system was too complex. This focus on the government is good in the sense that there is too much information to go through and too little exact references for him to use. His compilation and analysis of the structure was organized according to linear time, which is like any other history book, and he made certain the setting and characters at the beginning of the book were detailed.
The book was informative and decently organized in an “expected” way. I was expecting this to be a textbook and was not disappointed. The book is a great introduction to the history of modern China up to the death of Deng Xiaoping with a focus on its government, and serves as a jumping off point to pique the reader’s curiosity about the period. Lieberthal is explicit enough to at least let the reader have a good conversation about these events at a dinner party.
This book is strong in its depiction of the history of modern China and its influences on the China of today. There was a good sense of the chaos that China had to endure during the warring states period (1912-1919), the bloodshed during the time of the GMD, and how the communists were able to overthrow the GMD via Japan’s invasion. The writing becomes weak because of lack of clarification. For example, in the chapter on “Formal Organizational Structure,” the author never explains the ambiguous “elite” is and who they are, which stands in sharp contrast to the figures he presented before, like Mao or Dr. Sun. If these leaders are so important to local economy—as he has stated, the smaller, more local government has more power than a large congress (173, 181)—then why is it that he never gives their titles?
He remarked that the “actual organization of the central party and state apparatus is ... vastly more complex than this basic outline conveys,” (177) and so, arguably, is the U.S. government. His citations support his framework, but his rationale and overabundance of generalities fail to prove true. He regurgitates albeit updated information about modern Chinese history through Deng Xiaoping’s successor, but appears to struggle after Hu Jintao’s rise to power. Lieberthal writes nothing of Hu Jintao’s policies or influence in the government after his section on “The Prospects for Elite Succession” before his dry chapter on China’s political system.
Lieberthal did what he had set out to do: provide an overview of the Chinese government. However he left questions unanswered about who the people of the Chinese government are and what drives them. His historical overview in the beginning and middle of the book was specific and detailed about the leaders of government through each stage in modern China, especially about what led them to be leaders, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping in particular. The explanation of the current organizational structure of the Party and the Center described the breadth of the positions, their level of power, and scope of influence. He never names who is in charge, how they arrived there, or why they choose the policies they do. He does, however, go into detail about their “Techniques for Making the System Work” (188-199). Lieberthal makes clear the state is corrupt (197), is fragmented by a “Matrix Muddle” (186-188), and dominates society (199). A chart would have been helpful because even Lieberthal admits that this system was too complex. This focus on the government is good in the sense that there is too much information to go through and too little exact references for him to use. His compilation and analysis of the structure was organized according to linear time, which is like any other history book, and he made certain the setting and characters at the beginning of the book were detailed.
The book was informative and decently organized in an “expected” way. I was expecting this to be a textbook and was not disappointed. The book is a great introduction to the history of modern China up to the death of Deng Xiaoping with a focus on its government, and serves as a jumping off point to pique the reader’s curiosity about the period. Lieberthal is explicit enough to at least let the reader have a good conversation about these events at a dinner party.
March 5, 2013
A great overall text on modern China, especially for non-specialists like myself. Very well written.
December 16, 2025
Désolée mais je dois renta tous les putains de pavelard que j'ai du me manger pour mes cours en Corée...
June 17, 2010
There is a lot of repetition. Kind of dry writing style.
April 23, 2016
Very helpful in understanding the political situation that is in charge of an immense country of people and resources. I definitely wosh to learn more now.
May 27, 2023
印象深刻的是讲述儒家为何会受到统治者的喜欢，受益匪浅。
文中提到了地方债，惊奇原来那时候就存在地方债问题。文末说了我国的一些未来的挑战，看完本书，感觉比较符合我国国情。
文中提到了地方债，惊奇原来那时候就存在地方债问题。文末说了我国的一些未来的挑战，看完本书，感觉比较符合我国国情。
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews