Search for Modern China

Jonathan D. Spence (1936—2021) was Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, where he taught for more than forty years. He was awarded MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. The Search for Modern China won the Lionel Gelber Award and the Kiriyama Book Prize.

• Part I: Conquest and Consolidation1. The Late Ming2. The Manchu Conquest3. Kangxi’s Consolidation4. Yongzheng’s Authority5. Chinese Society and the Reign of Qianlong6. China and the Eighteenth-Century WorldPart II: Fragmentation and Reform7. The First Clash with the West8. The Crisis Within9. Restoration through Reform10. New Tensions in the Late Qing11. The End of the DynastyPart III: Envisioning State and Society12. The New Republic13. “A Road is Made”14. The Fractured Alliance15. The Guomindang in Power16. Communist SurvivalPart IV: War and Revolution17. World War II18. The Fall of the Guomindang State19. The Birth of the People’s Republic20. Planning the New Society21. Deepening the Revolution22. Cultural RevolutionPart V: Re-entering the World23. Reopening the Doors24. Redefining Revolution25. Levels of Power26. Testing the Limits27. Century’s End28. Breakthrough (new chapter to this edition)