According to the dominant Western narrative, the history of the entire modern world has been prodigiously shaped by Western historical turning points beginning with the Renaissance and running through the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the science-driven, first Industrial Revolution. A recent, US-published book, “China’s Age of Abundance: Origins Ascendence and Aftermath” by Professor Wang Feng, from the University of California, argues that the Rise of China needs to be added to this revered Western turning-point list.

This book is favourably reviewed in an extended essay entitled “What Produced the China Miracle”, by the prominent writer and academic, Howard W French (from Columbia University) recently published in the journal Foreign Policy.

Professor French’s review, drawing on the book, documents the astounding dimensions of China’s modern rise which surpass anything seen before in human history. A range of explanatory factors are also considered, including: the demise of Maoism; the rise of globalisation; and the long-term........

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