Confucianism in Contemporary Chinese Politics

This is the most comprehensive and convincing study on the integration of traditional culture into Chinese politics. The author demonstrates her thorough understanding of Confucianism and solid training in Western social scientific methodology. It is a seamless weaving between the East and the West, between affection and rationality, and between formal and informal politics. -- Wenfang Tang, University of Iowa
This stunning, lucid, and absorbing exposition of China's cultural politics is unrivaled. Brimming with brilliant insights, its multi-methodology blends history, political philosophy, psychology, and rigorous social scientific content and discourse analysis with interviews and deep research to demonstrate how Chinese notions of morality, reciprocity (guanxi), the place for law despite the prevalence of corruption, the legitimacy of the state and the modes citizens employ to connect with the state are all rooted in key principles of Confucian beliefs and practices. Unraveling the informal rules of the Chinese polity, and showing how they inform and shape the more formal institutions, the book's several arguments—exciting, erudite and compelling—will render it a landmark in its field. -- Dorothy J. Solinger, University of California, Irvine
This well-researched and thought-provoking book takes a critical approach to existing frameworks on the Chinese political system. Through multifaceted methodology and extensive presentation of qualitative and quantitative data, the author shows how modern Chinese politics and policy have been shaped by its political culture and moral values and how ordinary Chinese people perceive their communities, society, and the state. The book is nicely written and richly documented. Citing many examples concerning legal practices and informal politics, it illustrates the ways in which Chinese people communicate and negotiate with their society and government. Students who desire to understand how Chinese politics works in everyday life will find the book insightful and pleasant to read. -- Xiaojian Zhao, University of California, Santa Barbara
Zhang's book is a fascinating account of the theory and practice of Confucian politics in modernizing China. Zhang draws on extensive empirical material from different spheres of social life to persuasively demonstrate that China's future will involve a reinterpretation of its past. -- Daniel A. Bell, author of The China Model