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Age of Ambition

Age of Ambition

By Evan Osnos

Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China. Vintage, 2015.

0.0 / 0

21 mins read

17 Key insights

A brief summary of Age of Ambition

A social history of China’s incredible economic growth, the Communist Party’s stronghold on political power, and the ways that citizens have adapted to their changing circumstances—based on an acclaimed journalist’s experience living in China and getting know its people, their ambitions, and their struggles.

Key insights in Age of Ambition

1
What do you get from this book? A nuanced, human-centered exploration of China’s newfound prosperity, political dynamics, and social transformations
2
The dark events of Chairman Mao’s Great Leap Forward forced the Chinese to try a different way of making a living
3
When Evan Osnos moved to Beijing, he encountered a country in the midst of astounding changes
4
The age of ambition brought individualism and consumerism, along with the “Got Rich First Crowd”
5
Gong Hainan’s online dating site reflected a newfound “freedom of love” in China, and made her a ton of money
6
Chinese tastes were changing and travel became aspirational, but attitudes about the West remained ambiguous
7
The 2000s saw an increasing income gap in China; the Communist Party changed its narrative, if not its image
8
The Internet posed a big problem for the government, which put elaborate censorship systems in place
9
Propaganda was the essential other side of censorship—the powerful Central Propaganda Department had a broad reach
10
In the rebellious Internet culture of the time, writer Han Han got famous for speaking the truth
11
Being a political dissident in China was dangerous, but Liu Xiaobo did it anyway and won the Nobel Peace Prize
12
Corruption was an inevitable result of authoritarian rule combined with prosperity; government hypocrisy became difficult to ignore
13
Chinese people felt a “spiritual void,” as old belief systems had been destroyed during Mao’s Cultural Revolution
14
A vibrant spiritual revival brought meaning to people’s lives, but with growth slowing and inequality increasing the future was uncertain
15
Summary of the key insights
16
Selected critiques in brief
17
Final word

Who should read Age of Ambition

Political scientists and economists • history and anthropology students • politics buffs • anyone interested in China

About the author of Age of Ambition

Evan Osnos has worked as a staff writer for The New Yorker since 2008. He has received multiple awards for his writing, including the Asia Society’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia and the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. The National Book Award picked Age of Ambition as its winner in 2014.

author avatar

Evan Osnos

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