Rana Mitter
ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
I am ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School and former Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford. As a historian, I research the connections between war and nationalism in China from the 1930s to the present. My interests include the Republican Period (1912-1949), the Cold War and Sino-Japanese relations. I’m the author of several books on 19th and 20th century Chinese history and a frequent presenter and speaker for the BBC and other media.
EXPs by Rana Mitter
One of the things that is underestimated by Western observers of China is the importance that the period of modern history still has on shaping Chinese thought and Chinese actions.
It’s useful to briefly consider the rather strange trajectory of traditional Chinese thinking over the last 100 years or so and then come back to the present day. Many people will have heard the name Confucius.
One of the elements of modern Chinese thinking that is underestimated is the continuing importance of thought from the traditions of Marxism-Leninism and also, of course, Maoism.