Foreword
by Andrew J. Nathan ix
Acknowledgments xv
Map of China xvii
Introduction 1
Part I The Party
Myth 1 Communism Is Dead in China 13
Myth 2 China Is Centrally Controlled 17
Myth 3 The Leadership Is Deeply Divided 21
Myth 4 The Communist Party Is a Monolith 25
Myth 5 The Military Is Gaining Political Influence 29
Myth 6 The Communist Regime Lacks Legitimacy 33
Myth 7 The Falun Gong Is an Apolitical Movement Persecuted for Its Religious Beliefs 37
Myth 8 Chinese Media Is Merely a Mouthpiece of the Communist Party 41
Part II The People
Myth 9 Chinese Culture Is Incompatible with Democracy 47
Myth 10 Chinese Have No Manners 51
Myth 11 Chinese People Are Not Altruistic 55
Myth 12 The Individual Has No Value, Only the Collective Does 59
Myth 13 All Chinese Are Only Children 63
Myth 14 The Chinese People Are Homogeneous 67
Myth 15 Communism Has Created Gender Equality in China 71
Myth 16 The Chinese Are Atheists 77
Myth 17 Shanghai Is More Liberal than Beijing 81
Part III Business and the Economy
Myth 18 "China Inc." Is Buying Up the World 87
Myth 19 China Has the United States over a Barrel 91
Myth 20 China's Economy Is Export Driven 95
Myth 21 Chinese People Are Born Moneymakers 99
Myth 22 Chinese Don't Take Risks 103
Myth 23 The Chinese Are Just Copycats 107
Myth 24 The State Hinders Economic Development in China 113
Myth 25 Unequal Distribution of Wealth Is a Source of Social and Political Unrest 117
Myth 26 All Economic Development Is Happening in the Big Cities on the East Coast 121
Part IV China and the World
Myth 27 The Chinese Are Racist 127
Myth 28 The Communist Party Is Kindling Nationalism 131
Myth 29 China Will Once Again Dominate East Asia 135
Myth 30 China Is Colonizing Africa 139
Myth 31 China Is an Environmental Baddie 143
Myth 32 The Chinese Could Tame North Korea-If They Wanted To 149
Myth 33 China Does Not Interfere in Other States' Internal Affairs 153
Part V The Past
Myth 34 China's History Spans Five Millennia 159
Myth 35 China Is Called the Middle Kingdom because Chinese People Believe Their Country Is the Center of the World 163
Myth 36 China Discovered the World in 1421 167
Myth 37 All Women Were Oppressed in Ancient China 171
Myth 38 China Has No Warrior Culture 175
Myth 39 Chinese History Goes in Circles 179
Myth 40 Tibet Was a Shangri-la until the Chinese Came 183
Myth 41 Mao Was a Monster 187
Myth 42 The Chinese Do Not Care about Their Own Historical Heritage 191
Part VI The Future
Myth 43 The Internet Will Topple the Communist Party 199
Myth 44 The End of the Communist Regime Is Near 203
Myth 45 The Chinese Are Masters of Long-Term Thinking 207
Myth 46 The RMB Will Eclipse the Dollar as the World's Reserve Currency 211
Myth 47 China Is a Military Threat 215
Myth 48 Chinese Will Replace English as the World's Language 221
Myth 49 The Twenty-First Century Belongs to China 225
Notes on Transliteration 229
Bibliography 231
Index 239
About the Authors 247