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Reviewed by:
  • Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1946-1950
  • Katherine K. Reist (bio)
Odd Arne Westad. Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War, 1946-1950. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003. viii, 331 pp. Hardcover $65.00, ISBN 0-8047-4478-5. Paperback $24.95, ISBN 0-8047-4484-x.

Odd Arne Westad has integrated new Chinese and Russian archival material in his intriguing account of the Chinese civil war of 1946-1950. He describes this conflict as one of the key events of the twentieth century, in that the victory of the Chinese Communist Party determined Chinese history for several generations and defined international relations in East Asia throughout the Cold War and after. The author connects domestic and international events and personalities in the explanations he has provided for the events that he describes. He uses small boxes on many of the pages with excerpts from diaries, documents, minutes of meetings, marching songs, biographies, and other sources, which allow a further glimpse into the actions that were part of the process of this conflict. In this very well written account the author describes clashes of armies, classes, and nations, and battles of memory and its associated mythology, and develops the links between these elements and the evolving political systems that sponsored them. Further described are the effects of these aspects of politics on the people, society, work, the family, and China as a country.

The author provides a summary of the history from which this clash developed and the international context within which it is placed. Those familiar with the events of this period will find an interesting presentation, with some new information, and a critique of standard presentations; those not conversant with the material can easily follow the arguments provided, giving them a more than basic understanding of the period. Westad points out that civil wars are almost never purely domestic. Therefore, he includes information that provides a widely focused picture of the war. Yet he does not leave his lens always on the broad perspective. He also provides glimpses of individuals or villages caught up in events, willingly or not.

The author points out the importance of the local sources that infuse his discussions. His account is much more than of the clash of the two "sides." Most previous accounts of the civil war are China centered. Many are comparative, in that they juxtapose this conflict and those of the peasant rebellions of the nineteenth century. Few deal with foreign influence, except in the bipolar Cold War framework. Recent accounts tend to have a theoretical structure and are given critical discussion within the text. Also discussed at the outset are the role of the peasants and leadership in the battle for survival, and the factors that gave one party an advantage over the other. The basic purpose of this book is to reexamine [End Page 470] the neglected history of the 1946-1950 period, and the reasons for the victory of the Chinese Communist Party.

The author points out that a knowledge of the political, economic, and social conditions in 1945 is necessary to develop an understanding of the conflict. The effects of the fifteen-year war with Japan, the increase in rural poverty, the issue of collaboration, and the weakening of the Guomindang (Nationalist) state and party institutions would benefit the communists in the long run. Yet the GMD also enjoyed many advantages at the end of the Second World War that the communists did not, including considerable aid from the United States. The author asserts that the outcome of the civil war could not be determined at its outset or for some time thereafter. He lists five major mistakes made by the GMD from 1945 to 1948 that explain their collapse, and, in addition, problems for the communists that hampered their exploitation of these mistakes. Therefore, victory or loss for either side was not inevitable.

Westad illustrates his chapters with posters from the period as frontispieces, and then includes poetry or other reflections from the era to deepen the reader's appreciation. For example, he links, art, literature, and the movies of the era to some of the student demonstrations, which were political...

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