The Southern Tour - (Asian Arguments) by Jonathan Chatwin (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Jonathan Chatwin travels 3000 miles in the footsteps of Deng's legendary Southern Tour, pursuing the stories of his journey and examining its legacies in the country today. Chatwin explores a nation still gripped by the pursuit of wealth that Deng legitimized, and transformed by the large-scale urban developments exemplified by the mega-cities of southern China, such as Shenzhen and Guangdong. Drawing on historical and contemporary eyewitness accounts, The Southern Tour brings to life the story of China's transformation into a 21st century superpower"--

Book Synopsis

A History Today Book of the Year 2024

On a freezing January afternoon in 1992, Deng Xiaoping, China's former paramount leader and now a revered elder statesman, set off on a month long trip around China's south in defence of the reforms he had set in motion to open up China's economy and transform the country into the political and economic powerhouse we know today.

In this book Jonathan Chatwin pursues the story of Deng's legendary "Southern Tour" and examines its legacies in the country today. Chatwin recounts the crucial debates and disagreements that characterised Chinese politics in the aftermath of the brutal crackdown of the Tiananmen protests of 1989, and the decisive influence of Deng's journey in establishing an economic blueprint for the 1990s and beyond. He explores a nation which has been transformed by large-scale urbanisation - exemplified by the mega-cities of southern China that Deng visited and endorsed - but whose leadership is now conflicted by the pursuit of wealth that Deng legitimized. Drawing on historical and contemporary eyewitness accounts, and the author's own 3000 mile journey in Deng's footsteps, The Southern Tour brings to life the story of China's transformation into a 21st-century superpower.

Review Quotes

"Elegant and evocative." --History Today

"Chatwin's book takes you into the world of one of the most epic and consequential ideological battles of the late 20th century. On the other side of it emerged the China of today - but it might not have been that way, and many worry that Deng's vision for Asia's giant could yet be reversed." --Stephen McDonell, BBC China Correspondent

"Jonathan Chatwin gives us the first in-depth account of one of the defining moments of China's 20th century: Deng Xiaoping's 1992 tour of southern China that kick-started economic reforms and paved the way for China's rise. Drawing on extensive reporting, documents, and with a flair for scenes, colourful anecdotes, and dialogue, The Southern Tour brings to life the most dynamic period of China's era of reform and opening up-a period that has now sadly vanished." --Ian Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sparks: China's Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future.

"An insightful look back at China's reform era ushered in by former leader Deng Xiaoping -- one that also serves as a poignant reminder of how Chinese life has changed under the current leader Xi Jinping." --Lingling Wei, Chief China Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal

"Told with verve insight and clarity, this fascinating book tells the momentous story of Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour. Jonathan Chatwin adds his own journey in Deng's footsteps by boat, bus, train taxi and on foot, from Guangzhou and Shenzhen up to Pudong, to trace a timeline of China's modernisation. This is a compelling account of a thrilling period when the momentous changes being planned and executed by China's leaders still hung in the balance: indeed one could say that under President Xi, Deng's legacy is still contested today ." --Michael Wood, historian, broadcaster and author, The Story of China

About the Author

Jonathan Chatwin is a non-fiction writer and journalist. His work has appeared in CNN, the South China Morning Post and the BBC. He is the author of Long Peace Street: A Walk in Modern China (MUP, 2019) and Anywhere Out of the World: The Work of Bruce Chatwin (MUP, 2012).