Confucius Never Said

Confucius Never Said

Share this post

Confucius Never Said
Confucius Never Said
"China After Mao" -- A Book Review

"China After Mao" -- A Book Review

The West should stop searching for moderate CCP leaders because there are none.

Helen Raleigh's avatar
Helen Raleigh
Apr 21, 2023
∙ Paid
3

Share this post

Confucius Never Said
Confucius Never Said
"China After Mao" -- A Book Review
1
Share

The piece was originally published in TheFederalist.com. If you enjoy reading it, please like it, share it, and recommend it. So more people can find it and read it too. Thank you.

crowd of people during daytime
Photo by kit sanchez on Unsplash

One of the West’s most significant foreign policy blunders was its blind faith that economic engagements with China would empower moderate Communist party members to launch political reforms. Such wishful thinking, unfortunately, is not the only China illusion the West has fallen for, according to Frank Dikotter’s new book “China After Mao: The Rise of a Superpower.”

Dikotter, as the chair professor of humanities at the University of Hong Kong since 2006, has a front-row seat from which he can observe Chinese history. He’s also traveled to China many times and sifted through thousands of municipal and provincial government archives and primary source materials. All of this research enabled him to author the award-winning “People’s Trilogy,” a series of books that document the …

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Confucius Never Said to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Helen Raleigh
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share