Utilising archives in mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and the USA, Nagatomi Hirayama examines the pivotal role of the Chinese Youth Party in China in the transformative years 1918-51. Tracing the party's birth in 1923 during the May Fourth movement, its revolutionary path to the late 1930s, and its de-radicalization in the 1940s, Hirayama discusses the emergence of the Chinese Youth Party as a robust revolutionary movement on the right, characterized by its cultural conservatism, political intellectualism, and national socialism. Although its history is relatively unknown, Hirayama argues that the Chinese Youth Party represented a serious competitor to the Chinese Communist Party and Guomindang, and proved to be of particular significance during World War II and China's Civil War. Shedding light on the ideas and practices of the Chinese Youth Party provides a significant lens through which to view the Chinese radical right in the first half of the twentieth century.

'Nagatomi Hirayama’s work is a significant contribution to modern Chinese history. The author presents new materials and fresh perspectives on Chinese politics in France, regional politics during the Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Youth Party’s relationships with warlords, and as a genuine political alternative to the GMD and CCP.'

Marilyn Levine - Central Washington University

'This deeply-researched account of the Chinese Youth Party effectively challenges the notion that pre-1949 Chinese politics was simply a struggle between Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists and Mao Zedong’s Communists. Highlighting regional developments and understudied alliances, Hirayama shows that militant Youth Party leaders shaped debates over national identity as well as events.'

Kristin Stapleton - The University of Buffalo, SUNY

'In this study Hirayama has reassessed the Chinese Youth Party by treating it as a 'radical right' entity between the GMD right and the CCP left in the mass party politics of Republican China and as part of a global phenomenon with Chinese characteristics. This account deepens our understanding of the dynamics of Chinese mass party politics and will be the authoritative work for a long time to come.'

Edmund S. K. Fung - Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies, Western Sydney University

‘Recommended.’

G. A. McBeath Source: Choice