Chinese history, for the CCP

Ian Johnson's book offers a lens to view China through the eyes of its people rather than through the party

Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future

Author: Ian Johnson

Publisher: Allen Lane

Pages: 381

Price: Rs 1,299

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China is a civilisational state with a long, contested and layered history. It encompasses within itself the history of the empires, kingdoms, warlords and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). But the history of China to which the Chinese people and the world is exposed today is sanitised and approved by the CCP. Since 1949, the CCP has taken a lead role in writing and rewriting Chinese history with the sole aim of pushing its own narrative and agenda. This