“Bill Hayton explains how China came to see itself as a separate state and how this reflects on the modern world,” reports MiddleAsanNews.
In his accessible and engaging work, Hayton explores how contemporary issues in China—the future of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, and the South China Sea—are rooted in the process of creating the modern nation-state. He raises important discussions from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when reformers and revolutionaries introduced Western ideas in an effort to create a new vision for China.
Hayton covers themes of history, national identity, language, and territories, demonstrating how a group of radicals, often in exile, adopted European concepts of race and nation to rethink China's past and shape a new future. His work connects political and personal narratives, illustrating how Chinese nationalism emerged at the intersection of East and West. These ideas remain relevant in the 21st century, shaping the country's politics.
The book also examines the emergence of concepts of the "Han race," the history of the nation, statehood, and language, showing how a reevaluation of its past helped the republic justify its claims to power a hundred years ago and continues to influence politics today.
“I am very pleased to learn that the Mongolian edition of my book 'The Invention of China' has ranked 8th in the non-fiction category of one of the bookstores in Ulaanbaatar!” — wrote the author on his X page.
Bill Hayton is a recognized expert on geopolitics in Southeast Asia and the author of three books, including "The Invention of China" (Yale, 2020), "The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia" (Yale, 2014), and "Vietnam: Rising Dragon" (Yale, 2010).
Bill Hayton is an associate fellow of the Asia-Pacific Program at Chatham House and a member of the Royal Geographical Society. Since 1998, he has worked at BBC News in various roles, including as a correspondent in Vietnam from 2006 to 2007 and as an editor at Myanmar's state television MRTV in 2013-2014.
Additionally, he has dealt with European and Middle Eastern politics, including working for the Arab channel Al Jazeera. Hayton frequently lectures at government institutions, universities, and think tanks, discussing disputes surrounding the South China Sea. In 2019, he defended his dissertation at the University of Cambridge, studying the history and development of conflicts in the South China Sea. He is currently researching ASEAN politics and Southeast Asia's relations with China and the United States.
