Abstract:
During the last decade three books have had a disproportionate impact on
China Studies because of their controversial interpretations: Jenner's The Tyranny
of History, which predicts the disintegration of the Chinese state; Menzies' 1421:
The Year China Discovered the World, which describes how Chinese sailors circumnavigated
the globe well before any Europeans; and Jung Chang and Jon Halliday's
biography Mao: The Unknown Story, All are revisionist histories that amongst other
(usually controversial) conclusions suggest there has been a conspiracy to keep the information
they convey hidden. Considering their arguments and the manner of their
enquiry and expression is interesting in more general ways about the construction
of narrative and the nature of conspiracy, as well as about the lessons for academic
research.
