{"product_id":"a-misunderstood-friendship-mao-zedong-kim-il-sung-and-sino-north-korean-relations-1949-1976-revised-edition-9780231200554","title":"A Misunderstood Friendship: Mao Zedong, Kim Il-Sung, and Sino-North Korean Relations, 1949-1976: Revised Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003eToday, the People's Republic of China is North Korea's only ally on the world stage, a tightly knit relationship that goes back decades. Both countries portray their partnership as one of \"brotherly affection\" based on shared political ideals--an alliance \"as tight as lips to teeth\"--even though relations have deteriorated in recent years due to China's ascendance and North Korea's intransigence. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eA Misunderstood Friendship\u003c\/i\u003e, leading diplomatic historians Zhihua Shen and Yafeng Xia draw on previously untapped primary source materials revealing tensions and rivalries to offer a unique account of the China-North Korea relationship. They unravel the twists and turns in high-level diplomacy between China and North Korea from the late 1940s to the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. Based on unprecedented access to Chinese government documents, Soviet and Eastern European archives, and in-depth interviews with former Chinese diplomats and North Korean defectors, Shen and Xia reveal that the tensions that currently plague the alliance between the two countries have been present from the very beginning of the relationship. They significantly revise existing narratives of the Korean War, China's postwar aid to North Korea, Kim Il-sung's ideological and strategic thinking, North Korea's relations with the Soviet Union, and the importance of the Sino-U.S. rapprochement, among other issues. \u003ci\u003eA Misunderstood Friendship \u003c\/i\u003eadds new depth to our understanding of one of the most secretive and significant relationships of the Cold War, with increasing relevance to international affairs today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-10981339\"\u003eZhihua Shen\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-10981340\"\u003eYafeng Xia\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/03\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231200554\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0231200552\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS008000\"\u003eAsia | China\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-POL\"\u003ePolitical Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-POL011010\"\u003eInternational Relations | Diplomacy\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS023000\"\u003eAsia | Korea\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eZhihua Shen is the director of the Center for Cold War International History Studies at East China Normal University, Shanghai. The author of a number of major Chinese-language works on Cold War history, he is also the coauthor, with Yafeng Xia, of \u003ci\u003eMao and the Sino-Soviet Partnership, 1945‒1959: A New History\u003c\/i\u003e (2015) and coauthor, with Danhui Li, of \u003ci\u003eAfter Leaning to One Side: China and Its Allies in the Cold War\u003c\/i\u003e (2011). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYafeng Xia is professor of history at Long Island University, Brooklyn. His books include \u003ci\u003eNegotiating with the Enemy: U.S.-China Talks During the Cold War, 1949‒1972\u003c\/i\u003e (2006).","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44590975942893,"sku":"9780231200554","price":41.67,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_e209771a-939a-4533-bda8-0dd595960354.jpg?v=1702268469","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/a-misunderstood-friendship-mao-zedong-kim-il-sung-and-sino-north-korean-relations-1949-1976-revised-edition-9780231200554","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}