Fateful Ties

“A rich narrative populated by often-familiar characters and events seen through the parallax perspective of their thoughts on, or relationship to, China.”—Sheila Melvin, Caixin

“Chang’s interest lies in the preconceptions and fond assumptions about China that would lead, at times, to far-reaching policies and actions by the U.S.”—Eva Shan Chou, Times Higher Education

“Gordon Chang, in Fateful Ties, fully acknowledges the U.S. preoccupation with China… Well aware of the risks inherent in the relationship, Chang casts a wide net as he focuses on the role cultural, educational, business, and political connections play in the relationship… Chang’s work deserves a broad audience and will more [than] likely stand the test of time.”—D. L. Wilson, Choice

“[A] thought-provoking history of our 400-year preoccupation with China.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Whether discussing mutually beneficial trade and discourse or souring relations leading to conflict, Chang argues that ties between [China and the United States] are not predestined but that the futures of both nations are nonetheless deeply intertwined.”—Casey Watters, Library Journal

“Chang analyzes the past 300 years of Sino–American relations, as the world’s most populous nation is poised to regain economic supremacy. It’s a succinct, sharply focused analysis, and Chang underlines America’s status as a fledgling nation while China was an ancient empire.”—Publishers Weekly

“Chang’s elegant analysis of America’s long cultural obsession with China spans such diverse issues as the nation’s early mania for tea and porcelain through the outpouring of ‘yellow peril’ literature in both the late-nineteenth and again in the early-twenty-first centuries. His many insights add a much needed depth and scope to understanding this often troubled but always important relationship.”—Michael Schaller, author of The U.S. and China: Into the Twenty-First Century

“Fateful Ties is a brilliant narrative of America’s obsession with China from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries. Chang’s eloquently written history takes this country’s ongoing mythmaking about China seriously and subjects it to a richly detailed critical analysis. An essential book for anyone interested in going behind the ‘rise of China’ headlines.”—Marilyn B. Young, Professor of History, New York University