Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

De: Ezra F. Vogel

Narrado por: Eric Jason Martin

Once described by Mao Zedong as a "needle inside a ball of cotton", Deng was the pragmatic yet disciplined driving force behind China's radical transformation in the late 20th century. He confronted the damage wrought by the Cultural Revolution, dissolved Mao's cult of personality, and loosened the economic and social policies that had stunted China's growth. Obsessed with modernization and technology, Deng opened trade relations with the West, which lifted hundreds of millions of his countrymen out of poverty. Yet at the same time he answered to his authoritarian roots, most notably when he ordered the crackdown in June 1989 at Tiananmen Square.

Deng's youthful commitment to the Communist Party was cemented in Paris in the early 1920s, among a group of Chinese student-workers that also included Zhou Enlai. Deng returned home in 1927 to join the Chinese Revolution on the ground floor. In the fifty years of his tumultuous rise to power, he endured accusations, purges, and even exile before becoming China's preeminent leader from 1978 to 1989 and again in 1992. When he reached the top, Deng saw an opportunity to creatively destroy much of the economic system he had helped build for five decades as a loyal follower of Mao-and he did not hesitate.

©2011 Ezra F. Vogel (P)2021 Tantor

Enlightening in an Objective Manner

It’s rare to get such an insight from an objective viewpoint of events as they happened - it’s effect positively and negatively in such an organized light.

Most information is politicized on these topics or largely biased without insights into the underlying infrastructure but Vogel’a presentation gives light to all angles and perspectives from foreign leaders to the domestic public

Fantastic Book, Beautifully Orated

I was initially skeptical of this book given how long it is and the fact that previously I have never read about modern chinese history. I found the background was sufficient to grasp the main content of the novel, and the writing was wholly clear and digestible for the uninitiated. No matter what your thoughts are on 20th century chinese political developments, I think we all can read this book to gain a more rigorously founded understanding of what decisions were made, who made them, and insights into why they were made. I found myself saddened when the book ended that there would never be a sequel as Deng is dead, which I think speaks to the power of this biography.

An excellent introduction to modern China

Loved the way Ezra lays out events and builds up to explaining the complexities of China in the XXth century.

It avoids the blatant criticism of authors like Walker Magnus, and instead focuses on events and facts.

It however might seem a bit overwhelming at first, 30 hrs long but totally worth it.

Great book

The author did just for the book. Because it connected so many dots and made it digestible for a wider audience. Interesting to learn the history of China

A deep dive but slanted

Its hard for the west to understand China and not judge when write. The author does better than most keep their bais in check

A Well Crafted and Objective Chronicle

Having lived in China from 1985-87, I found Vogel's analysis and documentation an obvious labor of love and worth every minute.

Admire Deng

Mao built the foundation and Deng redirected to the right way and brought it to the next level. Thanks to Deng that China has what it achieved

Detailed and Balanced Biography

A detailed biography of one of China’s most profoundly important political figures, this book is balanced and fair. I recommend it to readers who want to understand how China’s dramatic transformation from Mao to now came about. I wish the narrator had been better schooled in how to pronounce the many Chinese names and places in the book.

A good overview of policy and rhetoric

This is a rather thorough overview of Deng’s rise to power and his reign. The research that went into this work is impressive. The author is clearly a fan of Deng but his portrait of the man is 2-dimensional. He seems to think the only thing driving Deng was his desire to Make China Great Again. In fact the author seems to think this is what drives most Chinese leaders (but of course the other leaders are not as wise as Deng).
I am interested in understanding the extent to which China’s development is best seen as a top down or bottom up affair. I thought Vogel would argue it was top down, but he really just assumes it was top down. The book is best as a description of Chinese policy and rhetoric. There is little argument or analysis. I think Vogel thinks the Chinese story is simple and obvious: good technocratic policy led to successful development. I suspect the story was more complicated.
The part of the book that many will find offensive is the treatment of the Tiananmen massacre. He sees it as more unfortunate than heroic. He argues there was enough blame to go around for everyone, including the arrogant students and their ignorant Western fans. He notes that there have been many worse massacres in recent Asian history, and I have the impression that he sees the killings as an unfortunate necessity and that Deng made the right call . Personally, however, I enjoyed seeing the author bravely making a very controversial argument. In many other places I felt he was trying to make points covertly through adjectives and emphasis. Although the author often irritated me, the book was informative and I am glad I read it.

Poorly Selected Reader

The book was great, but the performance left much to be desired. I’m not trying to be unkind but the voice and speech pattern were wooden, rigid and robotic in a way that detracted. More importantly, with that many Chinese terms and quotes in the book, they really should have selected someone with an ability to pronounce Chinese correctly. His Chinese pronunciation was atrocious and incomprehensible and at times that made it difficult to understand the referenced name, city or quotation.