JSPES, Vol. 43, No. 3-4 (Fall-Winter 2018)
pp. 187–204

The “Four C’s” of Contemporary China

Dwight D. Murphey
Wichita State University, retired

Although this article has no pretension that it captures more than a fraction of the complex reality that is contemporary China, it explores what the author calls “the Four C’s” — the Communist Party, censorship, corruption and construction — that shed light on important facets of that reality. Extensive reading about China’s recent history has provided the author with a trove of information that he thinks will interest readers of this Journal. His reference to “the Four C’s” is a fanciful application of China’s love for numbering so many things, such as “the Four Cardinal Principles” and “the Five Nos.”