Edmund S. K. Fung is Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Western Sydney. His previous publications include In Search of Chinese Democracy (Cambridge, 2000), The Diplomacy of Imperial Retreat: Britain's South China Policy, 1924–1931 (1991), and The Military Dimension of the Chinese Revolution: The New Army and its Role in the Revolution of 1911 (1980).

'Cheek's excellent book contributes to our understanding of the roles which intellectuals at various levels of the elite played in China's modernization and the ways in which these roles and the scholarly enterprise evolved over time … Such work becomes an increasingly important window to understand a China that is taking on a new global role in multiple arenas.' Elina Sinkkonen, The English Historical Review

• Introduction; 1. The push of Westernized radicalism; 2. The pull of cultural conservatism; 3. The politics of modern Chinese conservatism; 4. Liberalism in China and Chinese liberal thought; 5. The state, government and rule of law; 6. The rise of reformist socialist thought; 7. From state socialism to social democracy; Conclusion.

Edmund S. K. Fung is Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Western Sydney. His previous publications include In Search of Chinese Democracy (Cambridge, 2000), The Diplomacy of Imperial Retreat: Britain's South China Policy, 1924–1931 (1991), and The Military Dimension of the Chinese Revolution: The New Army and its Role in the Revolution of 1911 (1980).

'Cheek's excellent book contributes to our understanding of the roles which intellectuals at various levels of the elite played in China's modernization and the ways in which these roles and the scholarly enterprise evolved over time … Such work becomes an increasingly important window to understand a China that is taking on a new global role in multiple arenas.' Elina Sinkkonen, The English Historical Review

• Introduction; 1. The push of Westernized radicalism; 2. The pull of cultural conservatism; 3. The politics of modern Chinese conservatism; 4. Liberalism in China and Chinese liberal thought; 5. The state, government and rule of law; 6. The rise of reformist socialist thought; 7. From state socialism to social democracy; Conclusion.