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Conscience of the Party : Hu Yaobang, China's Communist Reformer by Robert L. Suettinger (2024, Hardcover)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherHarvard University Press

ISBN-100674272803

ISBN-139780674272804

eBay Product ID (ePID)13065839420

Product Key Features

Book TitleConscience of the Party : Hu Yaobang, China's Communist Reformer

Number of Pages488 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2024

TopicPolitical Ideologies / Communism, Post-Communism & Socialism, Asia / General, Asia / China, Historical

IllustratorYes

GenrePolitical Science, Biography & Autobiography, History

AuthorRobert L. Suettinger

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.6 in

Item Weight32.3 Oz

Item Length9.5 in

Item Width6.4 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2024-003391

Dewey Edition23

ReviewsA thoughtful and deeply researched biography that casts Hu as a central figure in China's post-Cultural Revolution renewal...excellent., A committed revolutionary, Hu Yaobang joined the Red Army at age fifteen, spent decades following Mao Zedong, and in 1980 was named general secretary of the CCP. In this thoroughly researched and illuminating book, Suettinger shows how Hu nevertheless became the 'conscience of the party,' overseeing the rehabilitation of thousands of cadres. This was a story that did not have to culminate in tragedy., An extremely detailed and fascinating life story that is sure to appeal to all students of modern Chinese history, as well as anyone interested in politics and global issues...a valuable source of information about a romantic revolutionary who was desperately trying to combine socialism and liberalism in a country that was not ready to accept this centaur-type creature., [This] book's ability to transcend the particularities of Hu's career and illuminate the universal dilemmas of reform in constrained systems solidifies its position as an essential resource for scholars of Chinese politics and comparative governance alike. By capturing the intricate dynamics of reform and resistance, The Conscience of the Party stands as a profound contribution to the broader discourse on political transformation in authoritarian contexts., An insightful and balanced biography of Hu Yaobang, one of the most remarkable Chinese leaders of the post-Mao era. Suettinger offers convincing evidence crediting Hu with key breakthroughs in China's reform and opening., A must-read for anyone who wants to understand China. Suettinger painstakingly reconstructs the life of Hu against the backdrop of seventy years of turmoil: wars, class struggles, purges, starvation, and fanatic mob violence. In doing so, he treats his subject not as a glorified hero but as a person with feelings--a romantic, humanistic figure, who nonetheless remained loyal to a party known for its ruthlessness. This a much-needed and welcome contribution.

Dewey Decimal320.9510904

SynopsisThe definitive story of a top Chinese politician's ill-fated quest to reform the Communist Party. When Hu Yaobang died in April 1989, throngs of mourners converged on the Martyrs' Monument in Tiananmen Square to pay their respects. Following Hu's 1987 ouster by party elders, Chinese propaganda officials had sought to tarnish his reputation and dim his memory, yet his death galvanized the nascent pro-democracy student movement, setting off the dramatic demonstrations that culminated in the Tiananmen massacre. The Conscience of the Party is the comprehensive, authoritative biography of the Chinese Communist Party's most avid reformer and its general secretary for a key stretch of the 1980s. A supremely intelligent leader with an exceptional populist touch, Hu Yaobang was tapped early by Mao Zedong as a capable party hand. But Hu's principled ideas made him powerful enemies, and during the Cultural Revolution he was purged, brutally beaten, and consigned to forced labor. After Mao's death, Hu rose again as an ally of Deng Xiaoping, eventually securing the party's top position. In that role, he pioneered many of the economic reforms subsequently attributed to Deng. But Hu also pursued political reforms with equal vigor, pushing for more freedom of expression, the end of lifetime tenure for CCP leaders, and the dismantling of Mao's personality cult. Alarmed by Hu's growing popularity and increasingly radical agenda, Deng had him purged again in 1987. Historian and former intelligence analyst Robert L. Suettinger meticulously reconstructs Hu's life, providing the kind of eye-opening account that remains impossible in China under state censorship. Hu Yaobang, a decent man operating in a system that did not always reward decency, suffered for his principles but inspired millions in the process., The definitive biography of Hu Yaobang, who, as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in the 1980s, promoted popular reforms and took aim at Mao's personality cult. When Hu's popularity and politics grew too dangerous for the party, he was purged and suppressed in memory--but not before his death inspired the Tiananmen demonstrations.

LC Classification NumberDS779.26.S83 2024