The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success, and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline

The EAST in Huang’s title stands not only for China but for the four keys to its history listed in the subtitle. The imperial examination system dating back to the sixth century forced aspiring elites to unite around the single goal of service to the state. Autocracy grew from the elimination of balancing forces within the state and of societal power centers outside the state. The stability of the authoritarian system was what the Chinese Communist Party achieved—despite self-inflicted episodes of chaos—by adopting its own forms of these ancient traditions. But technological stagnation was the price the Chinese dynasties paid for their supreme stability. Reformist leaders after the death of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, opened up the system enough to allow for innovation, entrepreneurialism, and economic growth. Now, however, Huang predicts that the crackdown on freedom under the Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s modernized version of imperial rule may bring an end to the country’s brief spurt of dynamism. Huang’s wide-ranging and consistently shrewd analysis suggests that Xi’s “China dream” of national greatness may be just that: a dream.