This standard text has been updated to take into account China"s increasing economic liberalization along with its continuing authoritarianism in the late 1990"s. Beginning with the sweeping changes which occurred when Mao Zedong and the Communists defeated Chiang Kai-shek in 1949 and took over a China which was still reeling from World War II, People"s China introduces us to the unique characters and events which have shaped recent Chinese history. With remarkable economy, People"s China chronologically unpacks the essential story of modern China -- the historical background, the ideologies, the grand economic achievements, and the cruel repression.