The Phoenix Years : A History of Modern China

Author(s): Madeleine O'Dea

History

If there is one lesson that can be drawn from our current times it is that the instinct be true to oneself, and to live an authentic life is a universal one, even in the face of autocracy or terrorism. From a young girl agitating for education in Pakistan, to idealistic filmmakers in Iran, from punk poets in Russia to the demonstrators of the Arab Spring, all are proving that the desire to express who we really are is not a Western conceit, but an aspiration basic to us all...The Phoenix Years is the story of how that instinct is playing out in China, the most populous nation on earth, and now our globe's largest economy. It is the story of the struggle between personal aspiration and political control, which erupted almost 40 years ago in the wake of the Cultural Revolution and still defines China today. Through decades of extraordinary development China's leaders have sought to harness the creative energy of their nation while keeping it firmly under party control. Meanwhile another vision of the nation, in which individual freedom is basic, has staked its claim in thousands of actions big and small, from private moments of self-expression to public acts of defiance. The transformation of China is one of the great stories of this or any age. The Phoenix Years tells that story, and entwines it with another that speaks to all of us as citizens of the world: the story of people struggling for a way of living that is true to the most cherished instincts of our shared humanity...Journalist and foreign correspondent Madeleine O'Dea has been an eyewitness to the transformation of China and the rise and rise of its burgeoning art and literary scene and protest movement for over 30 years. She is on intimate terms with the key players, many of whom are now huge international stars, and is the perfect person to write this important and fascinating book. At once an accessible history of China as well as a chronicle of decades of breathtaking dissent against the State, both before and after Tianenmen Square, this is vital reading to anyone interested in China today.


Product Information

Madeleine O'Dea is a writer and journalist who has been covering the political, economic and cultural life of China for the past three decades. In 1986 she went to China to report on the opening up of the economy as the Beijing correspondent for The Australian Financial Review, and saw at first hand the emergence of China's avant-garde in a period of unprecedented cultural openness...During the 1990s she continued to cover the China story as a current affairs producer with Australia's ABC Television, while also reporting stories throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. In 2004 she returned to work in China as an on-air announcer for China Radio International and subsequently as the Arts Editor for the Beijinger magazine before joining Blouin Media in 2010 as the founding Editor-in- Chief of ARTINFO China and the Asian Editor of Art + Auction and Modern Painters magazines...While also reporting from China for a range of other publiciations, including The Guardian, The Art Newspaper, Bazaar Art, and The Australian, Madeleine has curated exhibitions in both Australia and China, focusing on aspects of Chinese contemporary art. She has also written on other topics for Good Weekend, The Globe and Mail, Limelight, and HQ...Madeleine previously worked as a senior policy officer with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra and as public affairs manager with the international public relations company Hill and Knowlton.

General Fields

  • : 9781760291259
  • : Allen & Unwin
  • : Allen & Unwin
  • : June 2016
  • : Australia
  • : August 2016
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Madeleine O'Dea
  • : Paperback
  • : 916
  • : en
  • : 700.95109034
  • : 400