Name: Restless Empire
ISBN: 9780465019335

Odd Westad

A prize-winning historian and expert on Chinese foreign relations examines China's role in the world throughout recent centuries to demonstrate how its past is shaping the nation's future, explaining how Western influences have reinforced traditional Chinese mores while establishing potential international partnerships.

China and the World Since 1750

Restless Empire

Elda Mengisto

"The past shapes the present. Today's China is shaped by its modern metamorphosis, by the transformations wrought by both external and internal pressure. History is therefore the most fundamental background on which to understand present-day Chinese foreign relations" (16).

So is Odd Arne Westad's thesis in Restless Empire, which is an overview of Chinese international relations since 1750. He starts on how the Qing Dynasty of China conducted its foreign affairs, with the aforementioned 1750 representing the peak of their power. The Russians were the first to establish foreign relations with this state, in which they cooperated to a strong extent. The Qing also had a tributary system with their fellow neighbors, though it was a system that was slowly becoming outdated. We not only get to see how the history of China is juxtaposed with these foreign relations, and how China has become either stronger or weaker depending on them. In addition, rather than going through the "great man" theory of history or focusing on material interactions, Westad also focuses on issues such as migration, education, and relationships.

The first question Westad poses at the beginning about "what is China?", which is quite curious. While i did know that China wasn't born of a nation-state, and it did struggle to become a power when they became one, I didn't doubt about what I thought China was--a cultural identity, . Instead, he pictures China as "a culture, a state, and a geographical core, around which identities, boundaries, and definitions of purpose have shifted and adjusted for a very long time. Indeed, perhaps one of the reasons why the concept of China has been so durable is that it is so amorphous and so contentious" (4). It expands and decreases from land masses to people groups, though "rules and rituals", from which Westad argues, remains a guiding point.

In terms of the history of China, I already learned of it through multiple sources, so the general trajectory through China (fall of Qing, its interactions with Japan which was a prologue to WWII and subsequent struggle to reconcile historical, Mao's IR and the Sino-Soviet split, etc) wasn't anything new. What Westad adds to this conversation, however, is the societal interactions between powers. For example, at the twilight of the Qing Dynasty, students traveled to Japan for an education, in which "the two key concepts that Chinese in Japan and elsewhere discussed in the first decade of the new century were nationalism and republicanism" (107). A bit strange, considering China never saw itself as a nation up to that point, but it showed the interactions between the two countries educationally. Ironically, Japan would go on to turn back from these principles, of which international issues such as Taiwan (whom actually had a good relationship with the empire) and historical recognition. It reflects today in how China sees Japan as an usurper of power in East Asia and how hesitant they are in developing a diplomatic relationship with them.

One thing which was quite fascinating was how the Chinese people interacted with other countries, beyond that of international relations. The Qing Dynasty had more foreigners live in China and Chinese moving away, so their perception of the world was broadened significantly. Shanghai represented this phenomenon; while it was despised for such, "for most Chinese who saw the city, who lived in it or who dreamed about it, Shanghai symbolized the kind of existence they wanted for themselves and their children..." (180). Combined with increased translations of foreign works, Westad paints a dynamic picture of how China transformed, "because of international influences on education, advanced training, and research" (204). This a phenomenon which continues today, with further translations and collaboration in technology, energy, and climate change.

On the other hand, the California Gold Rush opened up the United States to China. Despite this, "the Chinese dream of being treated like other immigrants in North America was never realized" (223). They were the only ethnic group that got completely banned from the United States, and were used for menial labor. At the same time, Chinese Americans became some of the most-educated members of American society, and contributed to the American academic system, especially in the late 20th century-early 21st century. These are some highlights of the "Abroad" chapter, which was the most fascinating part of the book. It also connects to China's relationship with the United States--"it is a place many Chinese would like to go to, in order to visit, to sojourn, or to settle. But it is also a threatening and confusing zone, where politics, values, friendships and even the landscape are in constant flux" (365). The process in which China and the United States made rapprochements was an interesting struggle, one in which China accepts the rules-based order of modern IR, but rejects the American hegemony of it. I find it fascinating, especially as this is what I study and want to work with.

In terms of how it's still relevant, "Restless Empire" is a good start to China's modern international relations, in which it features movement across continents, high ambitions, and mixed results. It's more fascinating to note how ordinary people move along across the globe, and how they impacted southeast Asia and beyond. While they aren't all going to be the ones to help with foreign relations, I wonder how will they think about things on the mainland, 10 years on.

Dana Kraft

I enjoyed this one for sure. A nice introduction to Chinese and SE Asian history that helps frame much of what is happening there today without taking sides or getting political. That's exactly what I hope to get out of books like this.

Restless Empire China and the World Since 1750

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