The new Chinese empire, and what it means for the United States / by Ross Terrill

Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-363) and indexes.

1. The problem of China -- 2. How the Chinese imperial state was formed -- 3. We are the world : an imperial tradition both defensive and superior -- 4. "The king is dead; long live the king" : the post-dynastic quest for a new political order -- 5. Red emperor -- 6. Your mother is still your mother -- 7. Beijing juggles the legacy of empire -- 8. Maritime empire -- 9. Steppe empire -- 10. Foreign policy : imperial goals and modes -- 11. Foreign policy : half-empire and half-modern nation -- 12. Autocracy's last legs

"Terrill's fascinating political history shows why China remains, in the words of Lucien Pye, "a civilization masquerading as a nation." Drawing on years of study and observation as well as new research, Terrill brings dynastic China to life while illuminating the remnants of the old empire that still underscore China's domestic and foreign policies. The Chinese dynastic state's blend of idealism and realism, attachment to doctrine, paternalism, and obsession with unity continue to shadow today's China. The New Chinese Empire exposes the anachronism of this imperial-Leninist state in the modern world, and forecasts startling scenarios for the fate of the world's last multi-ethnic empire. Political crisis lies ahead, Terrill says, yet he depicts China's longer-term future, not in terms of a clash of civilizations, but of the universals of human nature and social change."--Jacket.

Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest, 2003