Discovering History in China: American Historical Writing on the Recent Chinese Past

An essential volume on the study of China from the early nineteenth century to today, Cohen critiques the world of leading post-war scholars and is especially adamant about not reading China through the lens of Western History. Uncovering the ethnocentric bias pervading the impact-response, modernization, and imperialism approaches, Cohen favors a "China-Centered" approach in which historians understand Chinese history on its own terms, paying close attention to Chinese historical trajectories and perceptions of the their problems. 245 pages, softcover.