In Search of Chinese Democracy: Civil Opposition in Nationalist China, 1929-1949

Description

Edmund Fung examines an important phase of development in China's long quest for democracy. The momentum for democracy, he contends, grew strongest between 1929 and 1949 through civil opposition to the one-party rule of the Guomindang. The Nationalist era contained the germs of a reformist, liberal order, the legacy of which can be seen in the pro-democracy movement of the post-Mao period. This book fills an important gap in the historical literature on Chinese intellectuals between May Fourth radicalism and the Chinese Communists' accession to power.

"This book by Edmund S. K. Fung builds on Andrew J. Nathan's Chinese Democracy (1986) with a fascinating history of liberal and democratic thought in the 1930s and 1940s, combined with a detailed study of the various democratic parties and institutions of the period...The book begins with an excellent introduction to the period...This book is at its best as a work of intellectual history...As a major contribution to our understanding of democracy in twentieth century China, it should be of interest to political scientists as much as to historians." American Historical Review "The book, on the whole, is well written and clear...In sum, this is an extremely interesting study of the 'hitherto little-known story'...It is a tour de force, a truly impressive piece of scholarship." The China Journal