Sponsored by CCWS and East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies

In this talk, Professor Shen Zhihua (East China Normal University, Shanghai) discusses the surface and root causes of the Sino-Soviet split. The surface causes were China's shelling of Goumindang-held islands in August 1958 and its commune movement of July 1959, which revealed sharp divergences between China and the Soviet Union.  The root causes were two fundamental contradictions: between internationalist ideals and the pursuit of national interest, and between the fraternal ideals and hierarchical reality of the Sino-Soviet relationship.  As a result of these structural contradictions, Professor Shen argues, it was inevitable that the Sino-Soviet alliance would end in a split.

Shen Zhihua is Professor of History at East China Normal University (Shanghai, China), where he also serves as Director of the Cold War International History Research Center.  He is also concurrent professor at Peking University, and honorary research fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.  Professor Shen's research interests include Cold War History, the diplomatic history of the Soviet Union, Sino-Soviet relations, and the Korean War.  His books include Soviet Experts in China, 1948-1960 (2nd ed., 2009), Mao Zedong, Stalin, and the Korean War (2003), and An Outline History of Sino-Soviet Relations(2007).