Intellectuals and the State in Modern China: A Narrative History

True to the title, the book is a narrative of the intriguing intellectual history of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Although it offers no profound new research, it is important for those who want a quick one volume review of the events that have shaped modern China. The "narrative" begins with an explination of the Confucian inheritance, the increasing criticisms hurled against it, and the need to defend the tradition at all cost during the late 1800's. It then moves on to discuss the rebellions that took place during the early and mid- 1800's, the attempt at restoration in the 1860's, and the failed reforms in 1898. In the process of discussing the ending of the civil service examination in 1905, the revolution of 1911 and the New Culture/May Fourth Movement, Grieder chose to focus on the new educational opportunities open to the Chinese during the early 1900's and how this shaped modern China. The 'narrative' ends with a look at the turn to Marxism in the early 1920's and how Chinese Marxist interpreted this ideology to fit the social and political conditions of China in the early twentieth century.