The Battle for China's Past: Mao and the Cultural Revolution

"A powerful mixture of political passion and original research, a brave polemic against the fashionable view on China. ... aims a knockout blow at Jung Chang's recent book on Mao, which Bush and the conservatives rave-reviewed."
---Gregor Benton, Professor of Chinese History, University of Cardiff



"This important book opens a much needed window onto Chinese perceptions of the country's post-Mao direction. . . . highlights the renewal of popular support for socialism and the growing opposition to contemporary state policies."
---Martin Hart-Landsberg, Professor of Economics, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon



Mao and his policies have long been demonized in the West, with the Cultural Revolution considered a fundamental violation of human rights.



As China embraces capitalism, the Mao era is being denigrated by the Chinese political and intellectual elite. This book tackles the extremely negative depiction of China under Mao in recent publications and argues that most people in China, including the rural poor and the urban working class, actually benefited from Mao's policies. Under Mao there was a comprehensive welfare system for the urban poor and basic health and education provision in rural areas. These policies are being reversed in the current rush towards capitalism.



Offering a critical analysis of mainstream accounts of the Mao era and the Cultural Revolution, this book sets the record straight, making a convincing argument for the positive effects of Mao's policies on the well-being of the Chinese people.