Rana Mitter is ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Manchurian Myth: Nationalism, Resistance, and Collaboration in Modern China (2000) and A Bitter Revolution: China's Struggle with the Modern World (2004). His book China's War with Japan, 1937-1945 (2014) won the 2014 Duke of Westminster's Medal for Military Literature, and was a 2014 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title. His book China's War with Japan, 1937-45: The Struggle for Survival was named a Book of the Year in the Economist and the Financial Times. He is a presenter for BBC Radio 3's arts and ideas programme Free Thinking.

Through insightful analysis of this process, Mitter illustrates that "China has almost always been a society open to outside influence," and even with its highly developed economy and major social changes today, it is difficult to conclude that China has moved from a traditional past to a modern present. This little book, with updates on statistics and events covering the years since the last edition, will benefit anyone who wishes to gain a good understanding of this complex country.

• 1: What is modern China? 2: The old order and the new 3: Making China modern 4: Is Chinese society modern? 5: Is China's economy modern? 6: Is Chinese culture modern? 7: Brave new China? Timeline

Rana Mitter is ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Manchurian Myth: Nationalism, Resistance, and Collaboration in Modern China (2000) and A Bitter Revolution: China's Struggle with the Modern World (2004). His book China's War with Japan, 1937-1945 (2014) won the 2014 Duke of Westminster's Medal for Military Literature, and was a 2014 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title. His book China's War with Japan, 1937-45: The Struggle for Survival was named a Book of the Year in the Economist and the Financial Times. He is a presenter for BBC Radio 3's arts and ideas programme Free Thinking.

Through insightful analysis of this process, Mitter illustrates that "China has almost always been a society open to outside influence," and even with its highly developed economy and major social changes today, it is difficult to conclude that China has moved from a traditional past to a modern present. This little book, with updates on statistics and events covering the years since the last edition, will benefit anyone who wishes to gain a good understanding of this complex country.

• 1: What is modern China? 2: The old order and the new 3: Making China modern 4: Is Chinese society modern? 5: Is China's economy modern? 6: Is Chinese culture modern? 7: Brave new China? Timeline