Very good point. Thanks for raising a complex issue…the complicity of those who remained silent when tragedy unfolds is a tough one for historians and obviously a very touchy subject for those whom such events are not very far removed.

Yeah, you can find a copy of the Jung Chang/Halliday book almost everywhere, even at a major cafe/bookstore here in Beijing.

Hope Yang’s book pops up sooner than later.

Agreed. I think historical research shouldn’t shirk from uncovering the dark spots in our shared human existence, no matter where, by or to whom.

that mao did some monstrous things is hardly news. what still boggles my mind is how people within that process sustained, intensified, and perhaps even worked to soften or ameliorate the great leap and/or the cultural revolution. the why is more fascinating (and potentially far more horrifying) to puzzle out than merely the what.

even totalitarian states depend on the consent of the governed to persist and enforce policy.

But does this give any nation the right to feel holier than Mao? Spain’s campaigns against the essentially unarmed Mayans and Incas, America’s near elimination of its native population, the Christianity-driven Inquisition and Crusades, Ghengis Khan’s pillaging, Hitler’s drive toward Aryan supremacy, Pol Pot’s genocide, the Rwandan genocide, the Viking raids, Australia’s near extermination of its aborigines, the Japanese murder of civilians in WWII (the list is endless) prove that murder on a large scale is a sport of Olympian proportions in which nearly all powerful nations engage.

Mao should never be forgiven for his unspeakable atrocities. Nor should we congratulate ourselves that we have done something particularly useful in rediscovering the vastness of his crimes. Instead, we might better spend our time exploring what it is about men’s nature that makes killing such an irresistible pastime. First diagnose. Then prescribe.

Anyway I’ll get my of Tombstone in Taiwan in November, if not before.