Chinese Intellectuals Between State and Market

Book excerpt: In the post-Mao era, China's intellectuals have had a degree of intellectual freedom in the last twenty year not experienced since the 1949 revolution. Although China remains a Lenninist party state whose intellectuals still cannot criticize the political leadership or party without impunity, its economy has moved to the market and its society is in contact with the international community. Whereas in the Mao Zedong era intellectuals, with few exceptions, obediently carried out Mao's orders and expounded Maoist doctrine, in the post-Mao era intellectual life has become pluralistic and complex. This edited volume highlights how Chinese intellectual activity has become more wide-ranging, more independent, more professionalized and more commercially oriented than ever before. The future impact of this activity on Chinese civil society is discussed as is the continually changing relationship between intellectuals and the party-state. With Contributions form China scholars living both within and outside China, this volume provides the first comprehensive description of China's intellectuals in the post-Mao era. It is a topic, which will appeal to scholars of China as well as those whose research interests lie in Asian cultural studies and intellectual history.