The Chinese peasantry and imperialism: A critique of Chalmers Johnson's peasant nationalism and communist power

Abstract

Chalmers Johnson's book Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power is important for several reasons. It is a complete reinterpretation of events of the Chinese revolution, presenting the revolution as merely another form of nationalist development of the modern nation-state. And it has had an enormous impact in the academic community. Most of the major works on this period of Chinese history are to some extent answers to Johnson. And its effect has extended beyond the field of Chinese studies. Almost all other studies of peasant mass movements and contemporary social change at least acknowledge Johnson's thesis and make some attempt to deal with it.