'Overall, an excellent book, well worth the attention that it will receive from both historians of modern China and political scientists interested in state formation.' Carl Minzner, Journal of Chinese Political Science
Introduction. Modalities of state building and institution building: bureaucracies, campaigns, and performance; 1. Virtue and talent in making Chinese states: heroes and technocrats in Sunan and Taiwan, 1949–1954; 2. Comparative terror in regime consolidation: Sunan and Taiwan, 1949–1954; 3. Performing terror: lenience, legality, and the dramaturgy of the consolidating state; 4. Repertoires of land reform campaigns in Sunan and Taiwan, 1950–1954; 5. Theatres of land reform: bureaucracy, campaign, and the show, 1950–1954; Conclusion; Appendix: list of interviewees; Documentary collections, reports, and periodicals.