Neither Gods Nor Emperors: Students and the Struggle for Democracy in China

Craig J. Calhoun

University of California Press, 1994 - History - 333 pages

This is an eye-witness account of the 1989 student protest movement which culminated in the confrontation at Tiananmen Square. Drawing on interviews and documentary research, the book offers an account of how the movement gathered force, broke through the limits of previous anti-government rebellions, faltered, found renewal in hunger strikes and powerful symbols, and was finally crushed by the military. The book also explores the dynamics of the movement itself, from the way it contributed to a new sense of civil society, to the fresh notions of collective respect and personal autonomy it engendered.

About the author

Craig Calhoun is Professor of Sociology and History and Director of the University Center for International Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Neither Gods Nor Emperors: Students and the Struggle for Democracy in China
• Author: Craig J. Calhoun
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of California Press, 1994
• ISBN: 0520088263, 9780520088269
• Length: 333 pages
• Subjects: History / General