China Learns from the Soviet Union, 1949-Present

by Hua-Yu Li, Thomas P. Bernstein Columbia University (Contribution by), Tina Mai Chen (Contribution by), Izabella Goikhman (Contribution by), Guiha Guan (Contribution by)

Overview

In this book an international group of scholars examines China's acceptance and ultimate rejection of Soviet models and practices in economic, cultural, social, and other realms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739142233
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	06/23/2011
Series:	The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series
Pages:	562
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Thomas P. Bernstein is professor emeritus of political science at Columbia University.

Hua-Yu Li is associate professor of political science at Oregon State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: The Complexities of Learning from the Soviet Union Thomas P. Bernstein 1

Part 1 The Ups and Downs of Sino-Soviet Relations

1 Sino-Soviet Relations during the Mao Years, 1949-1969 Lorenz M. Lüthi

2 The Main Causes for the Return of the Chinese Changchun Railway to China and Its Impact on Sino-Soviet Relations Shengfa Zhang 61

3 "Only a Handshake but no Embrace": Sino-Soviet Normalization in the 1980s Péter Vámos 79

Part 2 Ideological and Military Influences

4 Instilling Stalinism in Chinese Party Members: Absorbing Stalin's Short Course in the 1950s Hua-yu Li 107

5 The Soviet Model and the Breakdown of the Military Alliance You ji

Part 3 Soviet Economic Assistance and Socialist Transformation

6 The Transplantation and Entrenchment of the Soviet Economic Model in China Kong Hanbing 153

7 "Get Organized": The Impact of the Soviet Model on the CCP's Rural Economic Strategy, 1949-1953 Xiaojia Hou 167

8 The Soviet Model and China's State Farms Gregory Rohlf 197

Part 4 Society

9 "Labor Is Glorious": Model Laborers in the PRC Miin-ling Yu 231

10 The Soviet Impact on "Gender Equality" in China in the 1950s Jian Zang 259

Part 5 Soviet Influence on Science and Education

11 Soviet-Chinese Academic Interactions in the 1950s: Questioning the "Impact-Response" Approach Izabella Goikhman 275

12 "Three Blows of the Shoulder Pole": Soviet Experts at Chinese People's University, 1950-1957 Douglas Stiffler 303

13 Lysenkoism and the Suppression of Genetics in the PRC, 1949-1956 Laurence Schneider 327

14 Between Revolutions: Chinese Students in Soviet Institutes, 1948-1966 Elizabeth McGuire 359

Part 6 Literature and Film

15 Coming of Age in the Brave New World: The Changing Reception of the Soviet Novel, How the Steel Was Tempered, in the People's Republic of China 393

Part 7 The Era of Reform and the Impact of the Soviet Collapse

17 China's Concurrent Debate about the Gorbachev Era Gilbert Rozman 449

18 The Fate of the Soviet Model of Multinational State-Building in the People's Republic of China Minglang Zhou 477

19 The Influence of the Collapse of the Soviet Union on China's Political Choices Guan Guihai 505

Concluding Assessment: The Soviet Impact on Chinese Society Gilbert Rozman 517

Index 527

About the Contributors 545

Editorial Reviews

The Sino-Soviet relationship has played a critical role in the development of the People's Republic of China. Basing their analysis on recent documentation from Russia as well as China, the authors in this collection contribute fresh and important insights into the nature of that relationship. It should be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the evolution of Chinese domestic politics and foreign policy.--Steven M. Goldstein, Smith College

This excellent and important volume will come as a revelation to many readers. Nearly every conceivable facet of the Sino-Soviet relationship is covered. The book's breadth reveals just how pervasive the Soviet model was in Chinese society, economics, politics, and culture.--Robert Ross, Boston College

At the recent 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China (PRC), an old slogan was repeated: 'Without the Chinese Communist Party there would be no New China.' We might also say: 'Without the Soviet Union, there would be no Communist Party of China, ' and 'Without the Soviet Union, there would be no People's Republic of China.' The Chinese Communist Party grew up in the Stalinist era. Today, after three decades of market reform, there is still a Soviet DNA in its political culture. The essays in this volume, compiled by an outstanding group of international scholars, trace the story of China's most important foreign relationship in its periods of tutelage, partnership, and tension. They remind us that, whether as mentor or rival, revolutionary or revisionist, no foreign state has had greater weight in modern China than the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.--William C. Kirby, Harvard University

From the Publisher

A sample of the soul-searching going on in Chinese academic circles about the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union, a subject that deserves greater attention for what it tells us about Chinese thinking regarding China’s own current political and economic challenges.

Slavic Studies

Although this tale of less than brotherly love is a familiar one, this volume provides a wealth of detail based on extensive field research and archival work, explaining exactly how, what, and why China borrowed from Soviet experience. Resulting from a 2007 international conference involving established scholars and younger researchers, the volume also goes well beyond conventional wisdom in the study of Sino-Soviet alliance relations to address the complex set of circumstances that set limits to Chinese emulation and to the Sino-Soviet relationship itself.

Slavic Review

The Sino-Soviet relationship has played a critical role in the development of the People's Republic of China. Basing their analysis on recent documentation from Russia as well as China, the authors in this collection contribute fresh and important insights into the nature of that relationship. It should be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the evolution of Chinese domestic politics and foreign policy.

Steven M. Goldstein

At the recent 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China (PRC), an old slogan was repeated: 'Without the Chinese Communist Party there would be no New China.' We might also say: 'Without the Soviet Union, there would be no Communist Party of China,' and 'Without the Soviet Union, there would be no People's Republic of China.' The Chinese Communist Party grew up in the Stalinist era. Today, after three decades of market reform, there is still a Soviet DNA in its political culture. The essays in this volume, compiled by an outstanding group of international scholars, trace the story of China's most important foreign relationship in its periods of tutelage, partnership, and tension. They remind us that, whether as mentor or rival, revolutionary or revisionist, no foreign state has had greater weight in modern China than the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

William C. Kirby

This book is a fantastic resource for professors and students alike. It is a major work that will help scholars around the world to better understand the Soviet model's enduring legacy and how it affected and will continue to affect modern China.

China Quarterly

The book contains a wealth of interesting and cogently presented perspectives on the Sino-Soviet relationship. It is highly recommended for both the specialist and the general reader.

The China Journal

This excellent and important volume will come as a revelation to many readers. Nearly every conceivable facet of the Sino-Soviet relationship is covered. The book's breadth reveals just how pervasive the Soviet model was in Chinese society, economics, politics, and culture.

Robert Ross

This book is a fantastic resource for professors and students alike. It is a major work that will help scholars around the world to better understand the Soviet model's enduring legacy and how it affected and will continue to affect modern China.

The China Quarterly