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Mao and The Da Vinci Code : conspiracy, narrative and history

2006; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 19; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/09512740600875135

1470-1332

David S. G. Goodman,

Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics

Abstract During the last decade three books have had a disproportionate impact on China Studies because of their controversial interpretations: Jenner's The Tyranny of History, which predicts the disintegration of the Chinese state; Menzies' 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, which describes how Chinese sailors circumnavigated the globe well before any Europeans; and Jung Chang and Jon Halliday's biography Mao: The Unknown Story. All are revisionist histories that amongst other (usually controversial) conclusions suggest there has been a conspiracy to keep the information they convey hidden. Considering their arguments and the manner of their enquiry and expression is interesting in more general ways about the construction of narrative and the nature of conspiracy, as well as about the lessons for academic research.