One China, Many Paths

Contributions by He Qinglian, Wang Hui, Chen Pingyuan, Qin Hui, Hu Angang, Gan Yang, Wang Xiaoming, Gian Liqun, and others

The world?s largest country is now a constant topic of fascination or fear in the West, producing an ever increasing literature of scholarship, reportage and tourism. In this volume, the differing voices and views of leading Chinese thinkers can for the first time be heard in English translation, debating the future of their society and its place in the world. One China, Many Paths offers a vibrant panorama of the contemporary intellectual scene in the People?s Republic. Its contributors include economists and historians, philosophers and sociologists, writers and literary critics, across the generations.

Among the topics debated in these pages are the future of China?s growth model; the deepening crisis on the land; the country?s emerging class structure, and the fate of its workers; its commercial and high culture, and the interactions between them; the role of social movements and the aftermath of the late eighties; the prospects of a democratic constitution and the direction of China?s foreign policy. This collection gives a unique window onto the variety and vigour of opinions about public affairs expressed in China today.

?The spectre of Stalin is still floating before us, drowing 'Havel' as before. Meanwhile Suharto and Pinochet are riding the tide of time, killing 'Allende' no less freely. Where is the common botton tide for us, Left or Right, in China?? ? Qin Hui

?? an impressive collection of essays by Chinese intellectuals.? ? Foreign Affairs

?This book is a welcome reminder (so far it is the only work of its kind in English) of the growing diversity of Chinese intellectual thought.? ? London Review of Books

Chaohua Wang is an essayist and student of Chinese literature and civilization at the University of California, Los Angeles