The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin
Encyclopedia
In 2005 a biography
of Chinese President Jiang Zemin
(The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin) by Robert Lawrence Kuhn
was published simultaneously in English and Chinese, generating attention and controversy.
imprints (Crown Publishers in English, Random House Kodansha in Japanese, Random House JoongAng in Korean). In China, it was published under the title Ta Gai Bian Le Zhong Guo: Jiang Zemin Zhuan (《他改变了中国：江泽民传》, literal translation "He Changed China: Jiang Zemin Biography") by Shanghai Century Publishing Group, one of China’s largest publishing groups.
wrote: “His [Kuhn’s] new book is a blockbuster in China, selling more copies here in a single month than any book since the last installment of ‘Harry Potter.’” The Washington Post
reported that the “warm official embrace of Kuhn's book is unusual,” adding “the work represented his [Kuhn’s] own best effort to write a ‘personal story as told by Jiang's family, friends and colleagues’ that conveys Jiang's ‘way of thinking’ in the context of Chinese history and culture”. The Post described public reaction in China as “mixed”, stating, “Some readers have praised the book for breaking a taboo against discussing the personal lives of high officials and for presenting details of Jiang's life that were new to them. Others refused to buy it, dismissing it as propaganda”.
, an officially sanctioned portrait of Jiang, perhaps commissioned by Jiang himself, a book that was flattering or fawning and more autobiography than biography. Reviewing it in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs, Sinologist Bruce Gilley drew an analogy:
Gilley added that
Writing in the January/February 2006 issue of Foreign Affairs, Kuhn responded to the charge that "Jiang chose Kuhn:"
Kuhn stated that his "rendition of events, such as the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia
in 1999, differs markedly from that of the official Chinese media", stressing that it was his intention to "move beyond all the hype and bias about China so as to understand how Chinese leaders think." Even though the Chinese edition was censored in that sentences or sections (largely of an internal political nature) were cut (but nothing of substance was added), the Chinese publisher still felt compelled to warn readers, in an upfront "Publisher's Note," that "Certain viewpoints and opinions of the author, as a Westerner, bear a definite distance from those of our own. Hopefully the reader will understand."
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of Chinese President Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
(The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin) by Robert Lawrence Kuhn
Robert Lawrence Kuhn
Robert Lawrence Kuhn is an international investment banker, corporate strategist, and public intellectual. With a doctorate in brain research and the author or editor of over twenty-five books, he is a commentator on business, finance, and China; long-time adviser to the Chinese government;...
was published simultaneously in English and Chinese, generating attention and controversy.
Publisher
It was published worldwide except in China by Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
imprints (Crown Publishers in English, Random House Kodansha in Japanese, Random House JoongAng in Korean). In China, it was published under the title Ta Gai Bian Le Zhong Guo: Jiang Zemin Zhuan (《他改变了中国：江泽民传》, literal translation "He Changed China: Jiang Zemin Biography") by Shanghai Century Publishing Group, one of China’s largest publishing groups.
Reaction in China
Virtually overnight, the Chinese edition became the number one bestselling book in China with sales of over one million and substantial publicity across the country including front-page features and magazine cover stories. The book is recognized as the first time that a biography of a living Chinese leader has been published on the Chinese mainland, and stories of its success and influence in China have run in the international press. The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
wrote: “His [Kuhn’s] new book is a blockbuster in China, selling more copies here in a single month than any book since the last installment of ‘Harry Potter.’” The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported that the “warm official embrace of Kuhn's book is unusual,” adding “the work represented his [Kuhn’s] own best effort to write a ‘personal story as told by Jiang's family, friends and colleagues’ that conveys Jiang's ‘way of thinking’ in the context of Chinese history and culture”. The Post described public reaction in China as “mixed”, stating, “Some readers have praised the book for breaking a taboo against discussing the personal lives of high officials and for presenting details of Jiang's life that were new to them. Others refused to buy it, dismissing it as propaganda”.
Reception to the English Edition
The English edition was generally labeled political propagandaPropaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, an officially sanctioned portrait of Jiang, perhaps commissioned by Jiang himself, a book that was flattering or fawning and more autobiography than biography. Reviewing it in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs, Sinologist Bruce Gilley drew an analogy:
"To write his biography, Mao Zedong chose Edgar Snow, a member of the U.S. Communist Party; Jiang chose Kuhn, a member of the U.S. business elite. An investment banker with a zeal for science, high culture, and business, Kuhn personifies the new ideology that has swept through China since 1989."
Gilley added that
"Nothing better symbolizes Jiang and his cohort's transition to a right-wing developmental dictatorship; every year, they carefully chip away at their socialist heritage."
Writing in the January/February 2006 issue of Foreign Affairs, Kuhn responded to the charge that "Jiang chose Kuhn:"
"…The truth is almost the reverse. Jiang didn’t choose me; I chose Jiang. The book was my idea; I planned it, financed it, and wrote it to trace China’s story through eight tumultuous decades of trauma and transformation. I had help—translators, researchers, editors—but I maintained absolute editorial control and made every editorial decision, and no one in China ever thought otherwise…."
Kuhn stated that his "rendition of events, such as the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in 1999, differs markedly from that of the official Chinese media", stressing that it was his intention to "move beyond all the hype and bias about China so as to understand how Chinese leaders think." Even though the Chinese edition was censored in that sentences or sections (largely of an internal political nature) were cut (but nothing of substance was added), the Chinese publisher still felt compelled to warn readers, in an upfront "Publisher's Note," that "Certain viewpoints and opinions of the author, as a Westerner, bear a definite distance from those of our own. Hopefully the reader will understand."