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H-ASIA December 6, 2013 Jung Chang on Empress Dowager Cixi--how do China historians respond? From: "Jane Leung Larson" <janelarson@att.net> I would like to know how China historians will respond to the best-selling biography of Empress Dowger Cixi by Jung Chang. It will surely be widely read by their students. Chang's book purports to re-write the history of reform in modern China, and reputable publications describe the book as "authoritative" (New York Times "100 Notable Books of 2013") and"mostly convincing" (New York Review of Books). Even Orville Schell treats the book with kid gloves in the New York Times Book Review, writing, "While Chang’s admiration can approach hagiography, her extensive use of new Chinese sources makes a strong case for a reappraisal." Chang asserts that these sources show Cixi to be the real reformer, not the Guangxu Emperor and his 1898 "Hundred Days of Reform," and certainly not his policy advisors led by Kang Youwei, who is found in Chang's index under "Wild Fox Kang." These true reformers of modern China are pictured by Chang as tools of Japan. Jung Chang's Chinese sources include many works by important scholars such as Kong Xiangji and Mao Haijian, who have delved into the historical archives with a far more critical eye than Chang's. I wonder how they would view Chang's interpretations of their work. While citing Sterling Seagrave among her English-language sources, Chang ignores scholarly authorities on Kang and the Cixi period such as Young-tsu Wong or Peter Zarrow, who both write in English. Jane Leung Larson, independent scholar, Baohuanghui Scholarship: http://baohuanghui.blogspot.com/ ****************************************************************** To post to H-ASIA simply send your message to: <H-ASIA@h-net.msu.edu> For holidays or short absences send post to: <listserv@h-net.msu.edu> with message: SET H-ASIA NOMAIL Upon return, send post with message SET H-ASIA MAIL H-ASIA WEB HOMEPAGE URL: http://h-net.msu.edu/~asia/ --
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