Book Reviews--China: The Rise of Political Intellectuals in Modern China: May Fourth Societies and the Roots of Mass-Party Politics

In a context of uncertain job prospects, the desire for financial independence, as well as intellectual influence, led this group of friends to found the Benefit the Masses Book Society (p. 88). Here, Yun argued that intellectuals should lead the masses from within (p. 132), thus addressing a tension between party leadership and mass mobilization that would erupt in the Cultural Revolution. [...]Rahav argues that intimate leadership helped to bridge not only youth clubs and party politics but also the masses and leaders. By rejecting historical teleology, Rahav offers readers a model of political leadership based on intimate relationships between intellectuals and the masses, rather than a model of confrontational struggle as per the Cultural Revolution.