The Mind of Empire: China's History and Modern Foreign Relations (Asia in the New Millennium) - Kindle edition by Christopher A. Ford. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Kindle Edition
With an economy and population that dwarf most industrialized nations, China is emerging as a twenty-first-century global superpower. Even though China is an international leader in modern business and technology, its ancient history exerts a powerful force on its foreign policy. In The Mind of Empire: China's History and Modern Foreign Relations, Christopher A. Ford expertly traces China's self-image and its role in the world order from the age of Confucius to today. Ford argues that despite its exposure to and experience of the modern world, China is still strongly influenced by a hierarchical view of political order and is only comfortable with foreign relationships that reinforce its self-perception of political and moral supremacy.
Recounting how this attitude has clashed with the Western notion of separate and coequal state sovereignty, Ford speculates―and offers a warning―about how China's legacy will continue to shape its foreign relations. Ford examines major themes in China's conception of domestic and global political order, sketches key historical precedents, compares Chinese ideas to the tradition of Western international law, and outlines the remarkable continuity of China's Sinocentrism. Artfully weaving historical, philosophical, religious, and cultural analysis into a cohesive study of the Chinese worldview and explaining its relevance, Ford offers a unique perspective of modern China.
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"With impressive zeal [Ford] works his way through the canon of Chinese political philosophy, digesting not only Confucius and his heirs but also the Legalists (who shared the Great Sage's belief in the primacy of the state while ruthlessly discarding his insistence on virtue), the highly influential 'manuals of war and statecraft' known as the bingjia, and even a few Taoists for good measure...China may not be on a road to Jeffersonian democracy, but the Party has a great deal of adapting ahead of it if it intends to maintain control. China is changing the world, but it is changing itself even more, and we should expect plenty of surprises along the way."―The New York Review of Books
"Christopher Ford tells us in
The Mind of the Empire how chairman Mao gradually transformed himself in the minds of the people of Communist China from a great revolutionary hero into a false god and political messiah."―
The Christian News
"Considers how history and Confucian notions of order and hierarchy shape China's foreign relations."―
The Chronicle Review
"Christopher Ford tells us in The Mind of Empire how Chairman Mao gradually transformed himself in the minds of the people of Communist China from a great revolutionary hero into a false god and political messiah."―
Christian News
"Seeks to explicate what [Ford] sees as key differences in the Chinese and Western normative understandings of international order; how they have shaped China's relations with the rest of the world, particularly Western Europe and the United States; and implications for the future."―
Book News Inc.
"Writing primarily for Western policy-makers and the interested general audience, Ford seeks to explicate what he sees as key differences in the Chinese and Western normative understandings of international order."―
Book News Inc.
"Ford's reading of Confucius is both shrewd and instructive, with implications for contemporary policymakers. China may currently be governed by a hybrid of entrepreneurial capitalism and rigid central control―the world's largest fascist state, strictly speaking―but its ruling principles and aspirations remain grounded in Confucian thought...
The Mind of Empire is an ideal guidebook for contending with the People's Republic: a scholarly analysis of Chinese history written with considerable authority and flair, and a sobering account of what dealing with Chinese power and ambition means to us―and, especially, to them."―
The Weekly Standard
"A much-needed and an erudite contextualization... [this book] will benefit immensely those interested in the history and strategic culture of China's foreign policy."―
The China Quarterly
"Not since John King Fairbank's 1968 edited volume
The Chinese World Order, has there been a single volume published that so effectively encapsulates centuries of China's traditional worldviews (plural) and its practices of statecraft. Ford's study is fluidly and engagingly written, making dense history and philosophy both accessible to non-historians and relevant to current concerns...the book should become standard reading for all courses on Chinese foreign policy."―David Shambaugh,
Journal of Chinese Political Science
From the Inside Flap
In the last century, no other nation has grown and transformed itself with such zeal as China. With a booming economy, a formidable military, and a rapidly expanding population, China is emerging as a twenty-first-century global superpower. China's prosperity has increased dramatically in the last two decades, propelling the nation to a prominent position in the international community. Yet China's ancient history still informs and shapes its understanding of itself in relation to the world. As a highly developed and modern nation, China is something of a paradox.
Though China is an international leader in modern business and technology, its past remains a source of guiding principles for the nation's foreign policy. In The Mind of Empire: China's History and Modern Foreign Relations, Christopher A. Ford demonstrates how China's historical awareness shapes its objectives and how the resulting national consciousness continues to influence the country's policymaking. Despite its increasing prominence among modern, developed nations, China continues to seek guidance from a past characterized by Confucian notions of hierarchical political order and a "moral geography" that places China at the center of the civilized world.
The Mind of Empire describes how these attitudes have clashed with traditional Western ideals of sovereignty and international law. Ford speculates about how China's legacy may continue to shape its foreign relations and offers a warning about the potential global consequences. He examines major themes in China's conception of domestic and global political order, describes key historical precedents, and outlines the remarkable continuity of China's Sinocentric stance. Expertly synthesizing historical, philosophical, religious, and cultural analysis into a cohesive study of the Chinese worldview, Ford offers revealing insights into modern China.
The Mind of Empire tracks China's astonishing development within the framework of a national ideology that is intrinsically linked to the distant past. Ford's perspective is both pertinent and prescient at a time when China is expanding into new areas of power, both economically and militarily. As China's power and influence continue to grow, its reliance on ancient philosophies and political systems will shape its approach to foreign policy in idiosyncratic and, perhaps, highly problematic ways.
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Product details
- File Size: 3242 KB
- Print Length: 416 pages
- Publisher: University Press of Kentucky (April 23, 2010)
- Publication Date: April 23, 2010
Well worth reading. It is important to understand what motivates China and how China sees itself so cooperation can be enhanced and conflict avoided. The basic argument is that the Chinese view of international relations is rooted in Confucian thought where there is a family of nations and there is only one head of the family. This is contrary to the Westphalian view of all nations having equal standing. I am not knowledgeable enough to say that the case made in the book cannot be challenged however having lived in China the argument does seem cogent. However it would be well advised to seek books which have contrary views and weigh up the arguments. (less)
Much more of an International Relations book than a history of China.
As one example: he describes in great detail the impacts on the Chinese self image of the humiliating post Boxer Rebellion treaties. But he doesn’t describe the Boxer Rebellion.
Probably much better if you are already well-acquainted with Chinese history.
Great book, especially in discussing the historical perspective of China’s relationships with other nations. China has experienced a lot of exploitation and mistreatment, that’s for sure.
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