China_Curriculum_Kanban

Unit 0 – Orientation / Start Here (Surveys & Overviews)

• The Shortest History of China — Linda Jaivin — Fast, reliable orientation.
• The Story of China — Michael Wood — Narrative sweep with culture and sources.
• The Oxford History of Modern China — Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, ed. — Multi-author essays; modern focus.
• China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know — Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom — Q&A primer.
• China: A New History — John King Fairbank & Merle Goldman — Classic long-view survey (balanced, non-Marxist).
• Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century — Orville Schell & John Delury — Intellectual-political genealogy of “fuqiang.”

Unit 1 – Imperial Foundations to Late Qing (to 1911)

• From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History — Kenneth Hammond (Great Courses) — Lecture companion.
• The Invention of China — Bill Hayton — Modern origins of key national concepts.
• Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden Age — Stephen R. Platt — Pre-war Qing and foreign encroachment.
• Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom — Stephen R. Platt — Taiping Civil War in global context.
• The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom — John Pomfret — U.S.–China relations since 1776 (start here for trans-Pacific lens).

Unit 2 – Republic, Warlords, Civil War (1911–1949)

• Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937–1945 — Rana Mitter — Central narrative of the Sino–Japanese War.
• Last Boat Out of Shanghai — Helen Zia — Human stories around 1949 exodus.
• A Force So Swift: Mao, Truman, and the Birth of Modern China, 1949 — Kevin Peraino — Diplomatic pivot at the founding of the PRC.
• Zhou Enlai: A Life — Chen Jian — Elite politics through a central figure.

Unit 3 – Maoist China (1949–1976)

• The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945–1957 — Frank Dikötter — Consolidation and early campaigns.
• Mao’s Great Famine — Frank Dikötter — Great Leap Forward catastrophe (archives-based).
• The World Turned Upside Down: A History of the Chinese Cultural Revolution — Yang Jisheng — Authoritative CR history.
• Mao: The Unknown Story — Jung Chang & Jon Halliday — Highly critical biography; read with scholarly works for balance.
• Red Scarf Girl — Ji-li Jiang — Youth memoir of the Cultural Revolution (accessible primary voice).

Unit 4 – Reform & Opening, State and Economy (1978–2008)

• The Chinese Economy: Adaptation and Growth — Barry Naughton — Best single textbook on reform-era economy.
• China’s Great Wall of Debt — Dinny McMahon — Shadow banking, local debt.
• China’s Crony Capitalism — Minxin Pei — Institutions and corruption incentives.
• China’s Gilded Age — Yuen Yuen Ang — How corruption adapts with growth.

Unit 5 – Xi Era: Governance, Ideology, and Information Control (2008–present)

• China’s Future — David Shambaugh — Scenarios and constraints.
• The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers — Richard McGregor — How the CCP embeds across institutions.
• The Third Revolution — Elizabeth C. Economy — Xi’s centralization and policy shift.
• Party of One: The Rise of Xi Jinping and China’s Superpower Future — Chun Han Wong — Biographical governance analysis.
• Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China’s Great Firewall — Margaret E. Roberts — Political control via information strategies.
• We Have Been Harmonized — Kai Strittmatter — Surveillance state and digital Leninism.
• Among the Braves — Shibani Mahtani & Timothy McLaughlin — Hong Kong protest/repression narrative.
• Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink — Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom — Short analytical account.

Unit 6 – Foreign Policy, Security, and Strategy

• The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order — Rush Doshi — Strategy across regions and tools.
• Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China — Hal Brands & Michael Beckley — Power-trajectory risk window thesis.
• The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia — Bill Hayton — Maritime disputes and lawfare.
• The Hundred-Year Marathon — Michael Pillsbury — Controversial; read alongside Doshi for contrast.
• The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom — John Pomfret — Long-run U.S.–China ties (cross-listed Unit 1).
• The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan — Matt Pottinger, ed. — Defense-focused essays.

Unit 7 – Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang (Sovereignty & Society)

• Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan — Jonathan Manthorpe — Taiwan’s political history.
• The Struggle for Taiwan — Sulmaan Wasif Khan — Triangular U.S.–China–Taiwan analysis.
• The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk — Palden Gyatso — Prison memoir; human-rights lens.
• Xinjiang (select reports & scholarship) — Documentation portal to pair with info-control readings.

Unit 8 – Society, Voices, and Memory

• China Witness: Voices from a Silent Generation — Xinran — Oral histories.
• Red Scarf Girl — Ji-li Jiang — Youth memoir (cross-listed Unit 3).
• Last Boat Out of Shanghai — Helen Zia — Refugee narratives (cross-listed Unit 2).

Unit 9 – Intelligence, Espionage, and Political Warfare

• Spies and Lies: How China’s Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World — Alex Joske — Influence operations and UFWD.
• The Scientist and the Spy — Mara Hvistendahl — Industrial espionage case study.
• Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating China’s Plan to “Win without Fighting” — Kerry K. Gershaneck — Frameworks for response.

Unit 10 – Primary Sources & Key Documents (read alongside narrative)

• PRC Constitution (latest official text) — Institutions in law.
• Report to the 20th National Congress of the CCP (2022) — Authoritative statement of goals.
• Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (selections) — Official ideology in translation.
• 1949 Common Program of the CPPCC (founding document) — Transitional charter text.

Optional – Counterpoints, Debates, and Future Scenarios

• When China Rules the World — Martin Jacques — Optimistic trajectory; read critically.
• China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know — Arthur R. Kroeber — Clear, balanced economic overview.
• Rivals: How the Power Struggle between China, India and Japan will Shape Our Next Decade — Bill Emmott — Regional lens to complement South China Sea readings.

Keep on Radar (Newer/Topical Short Reads)

• The Shortest History of China — Linda Jaivin — Quick refresher any time.
• China’s Future — David Shambaugh — Scenario updates.