Modern Chinese History - Illustrated Masterpiece Classic

Author: Jiang Yanfu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: Jiang Yanfu can be considered the pioneer of modern Chinese history research. His book A History of Modern China, published in 1938, though only over 50,000 words, encapsulates a decade of his research. In the book, he clearly states: "In the past century, the fundamental question facing the Chinese nation is this: Are the Chinese capable of modernization? Can they catch up with the Westerners? Can they utilize science and machinery? Can they abandon their family and hometown mentality to organize a modern national state? If so, our nation's future is bright. If not, our nation has no future." He also argues that for China to achieve modernization, it cannot merely focus on material aspects but must also elevate itself to the spiritual and institutional levels. Otherwise, backward national spirit and corrupt state systems will become shackles hindering material modernization, as evidenced by the failures of the Self-Strengthening Movement. Upon its publication, the book was widely acclaimed and had a significant impact. Moreover, to some extent, our contemporary research on modern Chinese history is still dedicated to the modernization studies proposed by Jiang Yanfu, even replicating the discourse system and analytical framework he constructed six decades ago. However, due to Jiang Yanfu's decision to abandon academia for politics and become a "foreign affairs expert" in the Nationalist government, he became invisible on the mainland after the liberation. Today, we are republishing A History of Modern China and including it in the Penglai Pavilion Series to allow readers to fully grasp the trajectory of modern Chinese history research.