Democracy and Socialism in Republican China - Softcover

Jeans, Roger B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0847687074 ISBN 13: 9780847687077

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1997

Synopsis

This groundbreaking book is the first full-length English-language study to explore the struggles for constitutional democracy and democratic socialism of Zhang Junmai (Carsun Chang, 1887-1969), a major political and intellectual figure in Republican China. Focusing on Zhang's writings, Roger Jeans has provided detailed descriptions and extensive translations of Zhang's key books and essays. He sets the context for these seminal works by describing Zhang's personal situation, the social and intellectual milieu, and the political climate at the time. Zhang's life and work reflect three intertwined themes: the early origins of contemporary movements for democratization in China; the lost option of a more peaceful and gradualist socialist road than that advocated by Mao Zedong; and the dilemmas that faced democratic and socialist 'third-force' figures persecuted for opposing both the Chinese Communists and the Guomindang from the 1920s on. This study will be useful to all readers interested in the history of the concepts of constitutionalism, human rights, and democracy as they have developed in China.

About this title

About the Author:

Roger B. Jeans Jr. Roger B. is professor emeritus of history at Washington and Lee University.

Review:

Professor Jeans adhered closely to the facts throughout the book and interpretive remarks were limited to pointing out inconsistencies in Zhang's thoughts and theories. This book will undoubtedly be consulted frequently by future historians on the intellectual history of modern China. (Alan P. L. Liu)

A valuable roadmap to the thinking and writing of an important and under-studied figure in modern China's intellectual history. It will be central to people who are working to trace the history of such ideas as constitutionalism, human rights, and democracy. Also valuable is the record of Zhang's views on the Soviet Union and on Soviet economic planning. The book is thoroughly researched and will be of great use to scholars in the field. . . . A significant scholarly achievement. (Nathan, Andrew J.)

Jeans has wisely called our attention to a serious man whose dedicated efforts, and failures, have much to teach us about the course of modern Chinese history. (Michael Gasster American Historical Review)

Jeans has used numerous sources, and his translations from Zhang's writings . . . are especially valauble for understanding the foreign impact on his prescriptions for China. . . . This book proves that Zhang deserves such attention and that Jeans is highly qualified to write it. . . . He has provided new insights into the history of the democratic idea in modern China. (Harold Z. Schiffrin The China Quarterly)

In writing this intellectual history of Zhang Junmai, Roger Jeans has done the field of modern Chinese studies an important service. By introducing readers to the thoughts and actions of Zhang Junmai, Jeans fills in a critical gap in our knowledge of the struggle for democracy in China. Refreshingly lucid, thoroughly researched and well documented. (Journal Of Asian And African Studies)

The book will undoubtedly be consulted frequently by future historians on the intellectual history of modern China and students of revolution in which violence and ideological extremism drowned out the voices of the moderates, thus pushing the nation toward a reign of terror and destruction. (Alan P.L. Liu)

Jeans does a scholarly job in sorting out the complex relationship among the Kuomintang, the Communist party, and nonmainstream political parties, or the Third Force, as Zhang put it. This book is refreshing in that it explores and interprets contemporary Chinese politics not from a KMT or Communist perspective but from that of a third party. This has rarely been done in the past. (Shao-Kang Chu Pacific Affairs)

Roger B. Jeans, Jr., provides us with a detailed and thoughtful description of Zhang Junmai's thought and life. It is not only an excellent biography of an important intellectual and minority-party leader, but also a pioneering work on the third force between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party in modern China. . . . Jeans clearly demonstrates the close connections between Zhang Junmai's thought, his political activities, and the political climate and the intellectual milieu of his day. As a result he delineates not only Zhang's individual history, but also the complexity of the social, political, and cultural world of early twentieth century China. . . . I highly recommend it to all readers interested in the issues of democracy, socialism, and nationalism in modern China. (Hui, Wang The Journal Of Asian Studies)

Welcome and long overdue. . . . It is the most complete on Zhang's career and works in English to date. . . . [An] excellent volume. (China Review International)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0847687074
• ISBN 13: 9780847687077
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 408