Mao's Last Revolution
2006 book by MacFarquhar and Schoenhals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mao's Last Revolution is a 2006 book by Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals released by Belknap Press.[1]
| |
| Author | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Cultural Revolution |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Belknap Press |
| Publication date | 2006 |
| Website | Mao's Last Revolution at the Internet Archive |
Harvard University Press presented it as "[MacFarquhar and Schoenhals] explain why Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution, and show his Machiavellian role in masterminding it (which Chinese publications conceal)."[1]
Reception
It is considered the seminal work on the Cultural Revolution in China 1966−1976.[2]
Judith Shapiro wrote in The New York Times 2006 that it "provides a detailed account of the salvos, currents, countercurrents, conspiracies, waves, cleansings and purges for which the era is known."[3] She called it an "important first effort to establish the facts", "the first major history of the elite politics of the period" and that it may "encourage healthy debate over state manipulation of historical memory".[3]
Later, Michael Schoenhals said importance of consulting the original Chinese text rather than relying solely on existing translations, with an example of mistranslation of Mao's remark "越杀人就越要革命" as "the more people you kill, the more revolutionary you" in Mao's Last Revolution. According to Schoenhals, more appropriate translation is "The greater the number of people murdered, the greater the wish [on the part of the survivors] for a revolution."[4]
