The establishment of the People’s Republic on October 1, 1949 brought a new dynasty to the forefront of Chinese political life but one with a Communist vocabulary while still relying on the Mandate of Heaven. The New Emperors: China in the Era of Mao and Deng by Harrison E. Salisbury follows the history of the first 40 years of the PRC through the lives of its first two leaders through to 1991 and the official end of the Cold War.

Harrison from the outset establishes how Mao’s decision to make Beijing the capital of the People’s Republic and his use of the Forbidden City as his residence along with that of his inner circle setting the new Communist regime in the mold of previous dynasties established by peasants. In fact, Mao’s study of the court histories of previous dynasties appeared to influence his governance more than Karl Marx, especially his admiration of Qin Shi Huang the first Emperor of the first dynasty of Imperial China. This admiration would result in his callous disregard of the lives of Chinese peasants during the Great Leap Forward and later the Cultural Revolution that stunted the entire nation for a decade as well as taking out numerous potential rivals for power, including the multiple demotions of Deng who persevered until Marshal Ye installed him in leadership through a military coup. Instead of following Deng’s reign leading up to Tiananmen Square, Harrison looked back from 1991 to how then-current China had developed under Deng before 1989 protests that momentarily undermined Deng’s control in the Party as well as the leadership not understanding the power of television when the Western nations began sanctioning them.

With three decades since the publishing of this book might have aged Salisbury’s thoughts on how China’s leadership would move towards 2000 poorly, however the historical content about Mao overall and the role the Cultural Revolution played into the response to Tiananmen are top notch. How Mao and later the Party have structured their hold on power by combining the Mandate of Heaven and Communist thought was interesting and provided context in understanding how events unfolded. Salisbury’s analysis of how the leadership that survived the beatings and tortures of the student Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution viewed the student protests of 1989 in that vein and wanted to suppress it at all costs. However, it is sobering to realized that the students of the Cultural Revolution are the leaders of China right now.

The New Emperors reveals that even as some regimes say they are a break from the past, they heavily rely upon it. Harrison E. Salisbury book might be 30 years, however it’s history of the rise of Mao and how Deng “saved” the Revolution is important to understanding the course of 21st Chinese history. ( )

Salisbury presents a pretty definitive (for its time) argument that the leaders of China's Communist Party don't really differ that much from the leaders of China's imperial dynasties. They even still live in the same place! And come to think of it, not much has changed in the 20 years since this book was written, except that leadership changes hands a little more frequently than it usually did with emperors. It is also important to understand how the "mandate of heaven" now falls upon the Communist Party. Fascinating stuff if you are interested in China. ( )

This is a great book analysing the rule of Mao and how the leaders of China, especially Deng Xio Peng were influenced by the Cultural Revolution. A little dated I suppose, but great for historical background. ( )