*ONLINE* Thinking on Sunday: China 1949 – Year of Revolution

** At the time of announcement this is an ONLINE only event — however, subject to future government guidance, we may make physical tickets available. If this becomes possible we will announce it here, and existing ticket holders will be contacted directly. Please register for an online ticket using the “Book Now” link **

** Conway Hall is a charity and we politely ask you to add a donation of at least £5 when registering. **

This talk offers a unique take on the creation of the People’s Republic of China, arguing that 1949 was a turning point for the nation and, as a result, changed the course of world history. With the dramatic collapse of Chiang Kai-shek’s ‘pro-Western’ Nationalist government, overthrown by Mao Zedong and his communist armies, the events of this pivotal year reverberated across the world, resulting in long-lasting consequences that are still being felt today.

Graham Hutchings follows the huge military forces that tramped across the country, the exile of once-powerful leaders and the alarm of the foreign powers watching on. Shadowing both the leaders and the people of China in 1949, Hutchings reveals the lived experiences, aftermath and consequences of this singular year; one in which careers were made and ruined, and popular hopes for a ‘new China’ contrasted with fears that it would change the country forever.

Hutchings’ book China 1949 (Bloomsbury 2020) is a vivid, gripping account of the year in which China abruptly changed course and pulled the rest of world history along with it.

Graham Hutchings is an Associate at the University of Oxford’s China Centre and an Honorary Professor at University of Nottingham, UK. He was Managing Editor and then Managing Director at Oxford Analytica, the global analysis firm, and between 1987 and 1998 was China Correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, based first in Beijing and then Hong Kong. He is also the author of Modern China: A Companion to a Rising Power (2000).

Website:  https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/china-1949-9780755607334/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloomsburyPublishing

Twitter: @BloomsburyBooks

** This talk will be held online using the Zoom application (available for PC, Mac, iOS and Android). A link to join the talk will be sent to ticketholders on the day of the event. **