The Great Transformation chronicles China's radical political changes in the 1970s and how ordinary people broke free from Mao's Cultural Revolution, transforming China and the world. It is a story of revolutionary change that neither foreigners nor the Chinese themselves could have predicted.

Format: Hardback
Length: 424 pages
Publication date: 24 September 2024
Publisher: Yale University Press

  “Almost every page contains an eye-opening detail. . . . The Great Transformation  evokes the multiple paths,ideas and possibilities that have shaped,and continue to shape,Chinas present.”—Julia Lovell, Financial Times   Odd Arne Westad and Chen Jian chronicle how an impoverished and terrorized China experienced radical political changes in the long 1970s and how ordinary people broke free from the beliefs that had shaped their lives during Maos Cultural Revolution. These changes,and the unprecedented and sustained economic growth that followed,transformed China and the world.   In this rigorous account,Westad and Chen construct a panorama of catastrophe and progress in China. They chronicle Chinas gradual opening to the world—the interplay of power in an era of aged and ailing leadership,the peoples rebellion against the earlier government system,and the roles of unlikely characters: overseas Chinese capitalists,American engineers,Japanese professors,and German designers. This is a story of revolutionary change that neither foreigners nor the Chinese themselves could have predicted.

The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time

The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time is a groundbreaking book that provides a comprehensive account of a formative and little understood chapter in Chinese history. Written by Odd Arne Westad and Chen Jian, this book chronicles how an impoverished and terrorized China experienced radical political changes in the long 1970s and how ordinary people broke free from the beliefs that had shaped their lives during Mao's Cultural Revolution. These changes, and the unprecedented and sustained economic growth that followed, transformed China and the world.

In this rigorous account, Westad and Chen construct a panorama of catastrophe and progress in China. They chronicle China's gradual opening to the world, the interplay of power in an era of aged and ailing leadership, the people's rebellion against the earlier government system, and the roles of unlikely characters: overseas Chinese capitalists, American engineers, Japanese professors, and German designers. This is a story of revolutionary change that neither foreigners nor the Chinese themselves could have predicted.

“Almost every page contains an eye-opening detail. . . . The Great Transformation evokes the multiple paths, ideas, and possibilities that have shaped, and continue to shape, China's present.”—Julia Lovell, Financial Times

The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time

The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time is a groundbreaking book that provides a comprehensive account of a formative and little understood chapter in Chinese history. Written by Odd Arne Westad and Chen Jian, this book chronicles how an impoverished and terrorized China experienced radical political changes in the long 1970s and how ordinary people broke free from the beliefs that had shaped their lives during Mao's Cultural Revolution. These changes, and the unprecedented and sustained economic growth that followed, transformed China and the world.

In this rigorous account, Westad and Chen construct a panorama of catastrophe and progress in China. They chronicle China's gradual opening to the world, the interplay of power in an era of aged and ailing leadership, the people's rebellion against the earlier government system, and the roles of unlikely characters: overseas Chinese capitalists, American engineers, Japanese professors, and German designers. This is a story of revolutionary change that neither foreigners nor the Chinese themselves could have predicted.

“Almost every page contains an eye-opening detail. . . . The Great Transformation evokes the multiple paths, ideas, and possibilities that have shaped, and continue to shape, China's present.”—Julia Lovell, Financial Times

Weight: 682g
Dimension: 242 x 159 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300267082