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Prasher's Fifty-Seven Essays Illuminate the Conundrum of Modern China

Prasher's Fifty-Seven Essays Illuminate the Conundrum of Modern China
The Conundrum of Modern China · thestatesman.com

A very smart man named Prasher, who knows a lot about China and works for the Indian government, wrote a book made of fifty-seven little essays.

The book is like a giant puzzle box that tries to explain China's long history and its culture.

It tells how China went from having emperors to being a communist country and then to a capitalist one where people wanted to get rich.

The book also talks about Chinese women and about leaders like Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Xi Jinping.

Some parts of the book are sad, because they tell about times when many people in China died.

A reviewer who used to have a very important government job in India read the book and wrote this review.

The book starts with a quote from the Pope saying that understanding China takes a hundred years.

It ends with a famous Bob Dylan song about all the people who have died.

The reviewer says the book gives lots of facts and is great for anyone who wants to understand China better.

Key facts

Book author
Prasher, distinguished member of the IAS and China expert
Number of essays
57
Book structure
Five parts: history and culture; internal oppression; Chinese women; Xi Jinping's long shadow; communism epilogue
Title inspiration
Somerset Maugham's 'On a Chinese Screen' (1922)
Opening reference
Pope's September 15, 2022 quote: understanding China is 'an enormous thing'
Closing reference
Bob Dylan's song, ending with 'The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind'
Reviewer
Retired IAS officer
Mentioned historical costs
50 million deaths in the Great Famine; 2 million in the Cultural Revolution

Quotes

Pope

The Pope who made a statement in 2022 about comprehending China

“… faces a stark choice in a divided nation; Mao’s radical left approach of equal poverty for everyone or Deng Xiaoping’s belief that ‘to get rich is glorious’.”
thestatesman.com
“… understanding China is an enormous thing… To understand China takes a century, and we do not live for a century”
thestatesman.com

Liang Qichao

Chinese scholar who commented on India-China relations in the early 20th century

“India and China are like twin brothers. Before most of the civilized races became active, we two brothers had already begun to study the great problems which concern the whole of mankind. India was ahead of us and we, the little brother, followed behind.”
thestatesman.com

Sources

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