The Tragedy of Liberation

The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Communist Revolution 1945–1957

Cover of the 2013 first edition.
Author Frank Dikötter
Language English
Genre History
Publisher Bloomsbury Press
Publication date
 24 September 2013
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 400
ISBN 978-1620403471

The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Communist Revolution 1945–1957 is a book by University of Hong Kong historian Frank Dikötter. It is the second book in a planned trilogy about the history of China under Mao Zedong, based primarily on newly opened government archives, as well as on interviews and memoirs. Dikötter's first book in the series, Mao's Great Famine, covered the period of the Great Leap Forward, whereas The Tragedy of Liberation examines the establishment and first decade of the People's Republic of China.

In the book, Dikötter challenges the view that the early years of the People's Republic of China were constructive and relatively benign, at least as compared with the destruction of the preceding Chinese Civil War, or the subsequent Great Leap Forward. Instead, he describes it as an era of "calculated terror and systematic violence",[1] characterized by indoctrination, ill-conceived economic policies that stunted growth, the uprooting of traditional social relations, and officially mandated "death quotas" that contributed to the unnatural deaths of 5 million people within the first decade of the establishment of the Republic.[2]

Reception

Following the success of his previous work on the Great Leap Forward—which won the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2011—The Tragedy of Liberation has garnered considerable attention. Writing for The Sunday Times, Michael Sheridan called it "groundbreaking...unsparing in its detail, relentless in its research, unforgiving in its judgements." He added that the new evidence marshaled in Dikötter's work would significantly alter mainstream academic interpretations about the relevant period of China history: "In particular, volume 14 of the Cambridge History of China, which covers the period of this book, will have to be rewritten.”[3] The Financial Times called it "A remarkable work of archival research. Dikötter rarely, if ever, allows the story of central government to dominate by merely reporting a top-down directive. Instead, he tracks the grassroots impact of Communist policies – on farmers, factory workers, industrialists, students, monks – by mining archives and libraries for reports, surveys, speeches and memoirs. In so doing, he uncovers astonishing stories of party-led inhumanity and also popular resistance."[4] Mark O'Neill of the South China Morning Post declared it to be "essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the nature and history of the communist state."[5]

References

  1. ↑ George Walden, Book Review: 'The Tragedy of Liberation' by Frank Dikötter, The Wall Street Journal, 4 October 2013.
  2. ↑ The Economist, The road to serfdom, 7 September 2013.
  3. ↑ Michael Sheridan, The Tragedy of Liberation: A History of the Chinese Revolution 1945-57 by Frank Dikotter The Sunday Times, 1 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Julia Lovell, Tragedy of Liberation: A history of early Maoist China puts paid to any notion of a ‘golden age’, The FInancial Times, 30 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Mark O'Neill, Book review: The Tragedy of Liberation, by Frank Dikotter, South China Morning Post, 6 October 2013.
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