The Fall and Rise of China

By: Richard Baum, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Richard Baum

Length: 24 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

How can we account for China’s momentous - and almost wholly unanticipated - global rise? And what does it mean, for us in the West and for humanity’s future?

Speaking to these vital and fascinating questions, these 48 penetrating lectures by Professor Baum bring to vivid life the human struggles, the titanic political upheavals, and the spectacular speed of China’s modern rebirth. Offering multilevel insight into one of the most astounding real-life dramas of modern history, the lectures weave together the richly diverse developments and sociopolitical currents that created the China you now read about in the headlines.

You’ll get a detailed understanding of all the core events in China’s century of stunning change, including the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the Republican era and civil wars, the "Great Leap Forward", the Cultural Revolution, and the post-Mao economic "miracle". Throughout, Professor Baum reveals highly unusual details that enrich the cinematic sweep of the story. For example, you’ll learn about the Christian warlord who baptized his troops with a fire hose, the strange kidnapping of Chiang K’ai-shek, and Professor Baum’s own smuggling of top-secret documents out of Taiwan.

A core strength of these lectures is that they make sense of the dramatic events of the story by getting deeply at what underlay them, culturally, socially, and historically - leaving you with a nuanced knowledge of the forces moving China’s modern emergence. Bringing alive the passionate reinvention of China with deep discernment and humanity, they portray the confounding, majestic, heart-rending, and visionary story of a modern giant.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2010 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2010 The Great Courses

An excellent review of China's recent history

This is an excellent course, spanning from China's humiliation and the disastrous centuries that followed it's collapse under pressure from the colonialist powers. Baum weaves his personal experiences into a deep and very reasonable analysis of the forces that brought us the failed nationalist revolution, the rise of Mao, Deng and the economic revolution that followed the reforms that started in 1978. The story ends in 2009, but the tools we received helps us understand Xi's challenges.

Wow!

I had read the reviews on how wonderful these lectures were and didn't quite believe them at first. The further the lectures went, especially into the Maoist years I had become absolutely hooked. Incredibly fascinating! I especially loved the speaker, he had so much personal experience and I loved his little side stories. I will probably be listening to this again very soon.

Good but needs updating

Needs updating post 2012. It falls off before any recent events. The last chapter covers 2008 Olympics and relations with the Obama Presidency.

Excellent refresher.

Lots of parallels from history to today’s circumstance easily and clearly explained. Would recommend for anyone brushing up on Chinese history.

A great course in every sense of the word.

A phenomenal effort and huge amount of research went into the making of this course. it is also very helpful that the course lecturer is himself a fluent Chinese speaker and a personal eyewitness to many events of modern Chinese history at a time when few Westerners would have been allowed such access.
Where I have some reservations about the course is in its treatment of Chiang Kai Shek,.the Guomindang, and the Chinese Nationalist forces during the Chinese Civil War and Japaneae occupation. Baum essentially portrays Chiang Kai Shek as being more interested in hunting Chinese Communists than driving out the Japanese, yet by his own admission Chiang's Nationalist Forces and the areas under their control suffered massive casualties at the hands of the Japanese army. It should be added that the Chinese Nationalist Forces ultimately did succeed in stopping the advance of the Japanese Forces.
Baum says little about atrocities perpetrated by Mao's Communists during the Chiness Civil War, only mentioning briefly that Chiang's Nationalist forces were decimated and slaughtered in the hundreds of the thousands at a time in several military engagements. Are we to believe that Mao's Red Army achieved all this by consistently fighting a clean war? I get the impression Baum admires Mao during the period that preceded his rise to power.
Be that as it may, from the period following the rise to power of Mao's Communist government and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Baum spares no effort in describing the extent of the atrocities and monumental blunders with horrific consequences perpetrated by the regime of Mao Zedong.

Masterpiece, just finished it, and starting it again

Richard Baum is incredible. An engaging 40+ hr history audible book is no simple task. Couldn't stop listening. I just moved to China, running a consumer business. Anyone living or working in China should listen to this. Couldn't imagine not having this context. My Chinese customers appreciate my knowledge of Chinese history, and my interest in key historical players and events.

If I had six stars to give I would do it in a heartbeat.

Excellent

Where does The Fall and Rise of China rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top of the list

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Professor who wrote the book

Have you listened to any of Professor Richard Baum’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Any additional comments?

I am not sure which is the most interesting- the history of China, as told by Professor Baum, or the personal stories Professor Baum tells of his own adventures in learning about China, his visit to China or his sources of information concerning of the personal plots, intrigue, interplay and personal relations among the leaders of China from Mao to the present. This is a very interesting history book, written by a knowledgeable professor and narrated very ably by the author.

A wonderful surprise - Who would have thought?

What made the experience of listening to The Fall and Rise of China the most enjoyable?

This was my first listen to a course serries on Audible. I was unsure what to expect. The author/professor's depth of knowledge and ability to provide details and nuanced meaning of the historical events were invigorating to the topic.

What other book might you compare The Fall and Rise of China to and why?

I am a fan of Barbara Tuchman and this narration seemed similar to me.

Any additional comments?

great insight into China is today and how they got there. Much ground work is covered to establish what makes the Chinese tick. Wonderful insights.

A great story by a knowledgable storyteller

Where does The Fall and Rise of China rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top of non-fiction and at the top of the great courses series.

What other book might you compare The Fall and Rise of China to and why?

From Yao to Mao, another good listen the the Great Courses series. 'From Yao' covers about 5000 years of Chinese history in a very accessible way. I have many of the Great Courses and From Yao is one of my favorites.

What does Professor Richard Baum bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

You cannot read the book, it is verbal lecture only. But Richard Baum brings great passion and excellent delivery. He was close to a number of the exciting events in modern Chinese history and his voice often swells with emotion when he remembers them. His delivery is very good, few hesitations, frequent personal anecdotes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, the story of Tienanmen Square in 1989. Baum was in China at the time and knows people involved. You can tell that the professor is torn between the horror of the massacre for which Deng XiaoPing is responsible and his strong preference for Deng's economic program for opening China and overcoming the backwardness for which Mao and his 'rightist' disciples were responsible.

Any additional comments?

Recommend listening to From Yao to Mao first to get a great background in Chinese history before going on to this more detailed modern history. There is a bit of overlap because this one begins more or less around the Opium Wars and 'From Yao' ends with Mao. But the modern history is covered in great detail. It is a terrific story.

Excellent Course!

If you could sum up The Fall and Rise of China in three words, what would they be?

This course provides an excellent foundation to better understand China and it's emerging place in the world. Something we all should take notice of.I took a two semesters of this topic as an undergrad but I have to say, this was much better.In all, this has been one of the best in the Great Courses series.Professor Baum was also excellent. I wish I would have had him when I was in college