The Xi Jinping Era: Cheng Li's New Reference Book for Chinese Politics

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Anyone interested in China has probably gotten their hands on this book.  A good deal of fanfare accompanied its release, and several of my favorite podcasts featured recommendations of the book.  So, does it live up to the hype?  Yes.  However, unless you're a serious China watcher, I wouldn't pick this one up.

This book is dense.  Like really dense.  It took me a long time to get through it.  In hindsight, I should have read all of the book's conclusion sections first, and then just read the chapters that interested me.  Much of the book's content consists of information about the composition of committees and governing bodies in the PRC.  Other than the noteworthy individuals, most of the names went in one ear and out the other.  However, the extensive profiling of politicians will make it possible to refer back to this book.  I expect to use this book when the next party congress happens.  This is the best reference book for Chinese politics.  The names of politicians, committees, and departments are indexed, making it easy to find information.  

The book's author

Cheng Li insists his approach to studying Chinese is quantitative because he uses numbers and charts.  Like many "social scientists," he cloaks his work in the cloth of science, even though nothing about it is scientific.  Adding charts and a large about of statistics, while useful, does not make something scientific.  

In the decades to come, prior generations will likely view this book as a great snapshot of foreign understanding of the inner workings of Chinese politics.  Xi Jinping's consolidation of power has revolutionized Chinese politics, and I must give great credit to Cheng Li for trying to make sense of post-collective leadership in China.  I must give him even greater credit for not shying away from the fact that Xi's revolution poses great dangers to the established orders both inside and outside China.