Was Mao Really a Monster?

The Academic Response to Chang and Halliday’s "Mao: The Unknown Story"

Nonfiction, History, Asian, China, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book Was Mao Really a Monster? by , Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781134006618
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: September 13, 2013
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781134006618
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: September 13, 2013
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday was published in 2005 to a great fanfare. The book portrays Mao as a monster – equal to or worse than Hitler and Stalin – and a fool who won power by native cunning and ruled by terror. It received a rapturous welcome from reviewers in the popular press and rocketed to the top of the worldwide bestseller list. Few works on China by writers in the West have achieved its impact.

Reviews by serious China scholars, however, tended to take a different view. Most were sharply critical, questioning its authority and the authors’ methods , arguing that Chang and Halliday’s book is not a work of balanced scholarship, as it purports to be, but a highly selective and even polemical study that sets out to demonise Mao.

This book brings together sixteen reviews of Mao: The Unknown Story – all by internationally well-regarded specialists in modern Chinese history, and published in relatively specialised scholarly journals. Taken together they demonstrate that Chang and Halliday’s portrayal of Mao is in many places woefully inaccurate. While agreeing that Mao had many faults and was responsible for some disastrous policies, they conclude that a more balanced picture is needed.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday was published in 2005 to a great fanfare. The book portrays Mao as a monster – equal to or worse than Hitler and Stalin – and a fool who won power by native cunning and ruled by terror. It received a rapturous welcome from reviewers in the popular press and rocketed to the top of the worldwide bestseller list. Few works on China by writers in the West have achieved its impact.

Reviews by serious China scholars, however, tended to take a different view. Most were sharply critical, questioning its authority and the authors’ methods , arguing that Chang and Halliday’s book is not a work of balanced scholarship, as it purports to be, but a highly selective and even polemical study that sets out to demonise Mao.

This book brings together sixteen reviews of Mao: The Unknown Story – all by internationally well-regarded specialists in modern Chinese history, and published in relatively specialised scholarly journals. Taken together they demonstrate that Chang and Halliday’s portrayal of Mao is in many places woefully inaccurate. While agreeing that Mao had many faults and was responsible for some disastrous policies, they conclude that a more balanced picture is needed.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Fever Hospitals and Fever Nurses by
Cover of the book Reading in Detail by
Cover of the book Water Management in Megacities by
Cover of the book Behavioral Development by
Cover of the book Encyclopedia of Counseling by
Cover of the book Feminism and Philosophy of Science by
Cover of the book Development, Modernism and Modernity in Africa by
Cover of the book Election Administration and the Politics of Voter Access by
Cover of the book Understanding Child Development by
Cover of the book Buddhist Monasticism in East Asia by
Cover of the book Poetics of the Iconotext by
Cover of the book Complete Psychology by
Cover of the book Natural Rights by
Cover of the book Gold Standard In Theory & History by
Cover of the book Drawing on Difference by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy