When political reform in the PRC began some three and a half decades ago, it was tempting to imagine that the revolutionary ideology and politics of Mao Zedong were destined for the ash heap of history. We now understand that China’s transition, wherever it may lead in the future, will not be quite as simple as it perhaps once seemed.

On the occasion of the publication of Andrew G. Walder's new book, China Under Mao: A Revolution Derailed, join us in a discussion of the ways in which Mao's thinking is still ‎embedded in China's world view. 

Panelists:

Andrew G. Walder is the Denise O'Leary and Kent Thiry Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences, and Senior Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.

Roderick MacFarquhar is the Leroy B. Williams Professor of History and Political Science at Harvard University and formerly Director of the John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research. He has published widely on the Cultural Revolution and his most recent book is Mao's Last Revolution.

Susan Shirk is the Chair of the 21st Century China Program and Ho Miu Lam Professor of China and Pacific Relations at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) at UC San Diego. Shirk previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, and is the author of several books about China.

Orville Schell is the Arthur Ross Director of Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations. He is the former Dean at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and the author of fifteen books, ten of which are about China.

Book sales and signing to follow discussion.

Presented by:

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