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ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD 49 Myths about China 2015 Edition by Marte Kjaer Galtung, Stig Stenslie
Communism is dead in China. "China Inc." is buying up the world. China has the United States over a barrel. The Chinese are just copycats. China is an environmental baddie, China is colonizing Africa. Mao was a monster. The end of the Communist regime is near. The 21st century belongs to China. Or does it? Marte Kjaer Galtung and Stig Stenslie highlight 49 prevalent myths about China's past, present, and future and weigh their truth or fiction. Leading an enlightening and entertaining tour, the authors debunk widespread "knowledge" about Chinese culture, society, politics, and economy. In some cases, Chinese themselves encourage mistaken impressions. But many of these myths are really about how we Westerners see ourselves, inasmuch as China or the Chinese people are depicted as what we are not. Western perceptions of the empire in the East have for centuries oscillated between sinophilia and sinophobia, influenced by historical changes in the West as much as by events in China. This timely and provocative book offers an engaging and compelling window on a rising power we often misunderstand. Table of contents :- IntroductionPart I: The PartyMyth 1: Communism Is Dead in ChinaMyth 2: China Is Centrally ControlledMyth 3: The Leadership Is Deeply DividedMyth 4: The Communist Party Is a MonolithMyth 5: The Military Is Gaining Political InfluenceMyth 6: The Communist Regime Lacks LegitimacyMyth 7: The Falun Gong Is an Apolitical Movement Persecuted for Its Religious BeliefsMyth 8: The Chinese Media Is Merely a Mouthpiece of the Communist PartyPart II: The PeopleMyth 9: Chinese Culture Is Incompatible with DemocracyMyth 10: Chinese Have No Manners Myth 11: Chinese People Are Not AltruisticMyth 12: The Individual Has No Value, Only the Collective DoesMyth 13: All Chinese Are Only ChildrenMyth 14: The Chinese People Are HomogeneousMyth 15: Communism Has Created Gender Equality in ChinaMyth 16: The Chinese Are AtheistsMyth 17: Shanghai Is More Liberal Than BeijingPart III: Business and the EconomyMyth 18: "China Inc." Is Buying Up the WorldMyth 19: China Has the United States over a BarrelMyth 20: China's Economy Is Export DrivenMyth 21: Chinese People Are Born MoneymakersMyth 22: Chinese Don't Take RisksMyth 23: The Chinese Are Just CopycatsMyth 24: The State Hinders to Economic Development in ChinaMyth 25: Unequal Distribution of Wealth Is a Source of Social and Political UnrestMyth 26: All Economic Development Is Happening in the Big Cities on the East CoastPart IV: China and the WorldMyth 27: The Chinese Are RacistMyth 28: The Communist Party Is Kindling NationalismMyth 29: China Will Once Again Dominate East AsiaMyth 30: China Is Colonizing AfricaMyth 31: China Is an Environmental BaddieMyth 32: The Chinese Could Tame North Korea-if They Wanted ToMyth 33: China Does Not Interfere in Other States' Internal AffairsPart V: The PastMyth 34: China's History Spans Five MillenniaMyth 35: China Is Called the "Middle Kingdom" Because Chinese People Believe Their Country Is the Center of the WorldMyth 36: China Discovered the World in 1421Myth 37: All Women Were Oppressed in Ancient ChinaMyth 38: China Has No Warrior CultureMyth 39: Chinese History Goes in CirclesMyth 40: Tibet Was a Shangri-la until the Chinese CameMyth 41: Mao Was a MonsterMyth 42: The Chinese Do Not Care about Their Own Historical HeritagePart VI: The FutureMyth 43: The Internet Will Topple the Communist PartyMyth 44: The End of the Communist Regime Is NearMyth 45: The Chinese Are Masters of Long-Term ThinkingMyth 46: The RMB Will Eclipse the Dollar as the World's Reserve CurrencyMyth 47: China Is a Military ThreatMyth 48: Chinese Will Replace English as the World's LanguageMyth 49: The Twenty-First Century Belongs to ChinaNotes on TransliterationBibliography