"Terrill's fascinating political history shows why China remains, in the words of Lucien Pye, "a civilization masquerading as a nation." Drawing on years of study and observation as well as new research, Terrill brings dynastic China to life while illuminating the remnants of the old empire that still underscore China's domestic and foreign policies. The Chinese dynastic state's blend of idealism and realism, attachment to doctrine, paternalism, and obsession with unity continue to shadow today's China. The New Chinese Empire exposes the anachronism of this imperial-Leninist state in the modern world, and forecasts startling scenarios for the fate of the world's last multi-ethnic empire. Political crisis lies ahead, Terrill says, yet he depicts China's longer-term future, not in terms of a clash of civilizations, but of the universals of human nature and social change."--Jacket.