Chinese vs. Western Perspectives Understanding Contemporary China [Paperback]

Aiming to deconstruct several myths about contemporary China and assist foreign policy experts engaging with Beijing, Zhou provides an overview of the country's long history and its current problems for a foreign readership. An admirable departure from ultra-nationalist apologies, the book offers a refreshingly balanced discussion of political repression, gender equality, environmental degradation, and human rights issues related to explosive capitalism. Zhou also disproves the fear-based theory that China's development and growth are direct threats to the US, and repeatedly asserts that China's future prosperity depends on thorough political reform. . . .Zhou clearly writes with students in mind; his book addresses nearly every topic that students hunger to understand. Specific chapters could be assigned in virtually any class, and his book would work wonderfully in political science, international relations, and public policy library collections. Students writing research papers in these fields will find many citations to relevant scholarship. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Especially for undergraduate and professional readers.Jinghao Zhou asks important questions in his attempt at Understanding Contemporary China, as his books sub-title states. As a result of grappling with big issues, his work provides a good text for an introductory course on contemporary Chinese politics.Chinese vs. Western Perspectives: Understanding Contemporary China is a wonderful insider look from outside China. Unlike most Western scholars writing about China, Jinghao Zhou lived in China for the most part of his adult life and knows the Chinese culture and politics intimately. After teaching and living in the U.S. for many years, he is also able to see China from a distance. As a result, he has a unique perspective on China. His book represents one of the best scholarship in the field.The book provides a comprehensive and insightful narrative of the multifaceted stories of contemporalÃS