''Nation, Governance, and Modernity in China: Canton, 1900-1927'' is a 1999 non-fiction book by Michael Tsang-Woon Tsin, published by

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...

. The book describes competing attempts by the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

and the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

to build a "society and nation" (社會國家) society in Guangzhou in the early 20th Century. Hanchao Lu () of the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

stated that this was the first English-language "analytical "biography"" of Guangzhou.Lu, p. 949.

Background

The work originated as a PhD thesis at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, published in 1990.Dunch, p. 338. Tsin worked for

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

as an associate professor. After publication of the book, he moved to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. Many primary sources came from the People's Republic of China.Beahan, p. 136. They included documents from the two political parties and the

British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign an ...

, as well as memoirs. The secondary sources used for research were written in Chinese, English, and Japanese. Some secondary sources came from the Western countries. The works describing theory were also sourced from Western countries.

The book discusses the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

, the 1922 seamen's strike, the Canton Merchants' Corps Uprising, and the Canton-Hong Kong strike. Roger R. Thompson of

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

stated that the book "tries to escape the straitjacket of both MTand CCP historiography".Thompson, p. 263.

Reception

Charlotte Beahan of

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

praised the sourcing and the content about theory, while she felt the narrative aspect was not as strong. Ryan Dunch of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

praised the "fascinating detail" about the subject. He felt that people not already familiar with the subject may have some trouble comprehending the book since the work "assumes some familiarity with Guangdong local history", and he stated that the some narration of events Dunch described as "dramatic" were done " laconically". Joan Judge of

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

described the book as "elegantly written and meticulously researched" and she praised the "success in bringing social-historical and theoretical analysis together".Judge, p. 162. Thompson stated that the book is "a worthy addition" to its field.

References

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Notes

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External links

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Nation, Governance, and Modernity in China
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Nation, Governance, and Modernity in China
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Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

1999 books Books about cities in China Guangzhou Stanford University Press books

Background

Contents

Reception

See also

References

Notes

External links