Rediscovering China: Dynamics and Dilemmas of Reform

By Cheng Li

Book Overview

This engrossing and evocative account of the profound changes overtaking China explores the major dilemmas it confronts at the turn of the millennium. Shanghai-born and Western-educated, Cheng Li provides the unique dual perspective of a local resident and a political scientist who returned to his homeland to observe from the grassroots China's remarkable social transformations. During his travels, Li interviewed people from all walks of life, including local officials, technocrats, entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and migrant laborers. His first-hand account shows how broad changes in rural industrialization, urban privatization, and internal migration have deeply influenced people's lives and ways of thinking. The magnitude of these transformations is unprecedented in Chinese history. His account brings a sense of immediacy to the crucial issues that have bedeviled the country: official corruption, growing disparities between rich and poor, the halting reform of state-owned enterprises, transportation and infrastructure bottlenecks, and environmental degradation. In rediscovering his native country, full of energy, irony, paradox, and contradiction, Li challenges some mainstream perceptions of China and presents a fresh perspective on U.S.-Sino relations during this period of uncertainty. His clear-eyed and engaging account provides the reader with the sounds and smells, tastes and textures of this rapidly changing country.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0847683389
• ISBN13: 9780847683383
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 1.1" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

Thums Up

Very informative and enjoyable. And Objective. A lot of depth into social, economic, and political issues in China through vivid interviews and revealing statistical data. The author is an American professor spending two years of social study in China. He did not stay in fancy hotel while in China, but rather went to rural areas, rode public transportation, and interviewed the working class as well as billionares. The author exposed some serious social issues in China, nevertheless one can sense his passion for this country. As a Chinese I am very proud of Professor Li and his work. This is a great book for Americans who are interested in China and who would like to know more about real China that has been somewhat twisted by the popular western media.

The author brings a unique perspective

The author of "Rediscovering China: Dynamics and Dilemmas of Reform" brings a unique perspective to his book, namely the viewpoint of one who has experienced both Chinese and American cultures firsthand. Born in Shanghai, Li Cheng came to the United States to study, later returning to China to write a series of articles, the updated versions of which form the basis of this book. The experiences he relates contain much more depth, much more richness of human interaction than comparable books written by native Western authors. He eloquently points out flaws in American stereotypical thinking about China, as well as criticizing Chinese leadership. I think Jiang ZeMin would do well to heed some of Li Cheng's recommendations.