Li Rui Research Articles

The Politics of Female Bodies: Narratives of Gender and Power in Trees without Wind by Li Rui and A Piece of Land with Many People and Ghosts by Nguyen Khac Truong

ABSTRACT Based on feminist theory, this article compares two literary works published in the 1990s in Vietnam and China: Trees without Wind by Li Rui and A Piece of Land with Many People and Ghosts by Nguyen Khac Truong. It focuses on identifying the connection between gender and power, how the male gaze perceives the female body, and expressions of submission and resistance of women in the context of Eastern patriarchal society in the 1990s. Through a deep reading method, the article analyzes the nature of patriarchy and the presence of gender power in the two novels, thereby critiquing the social system dominated by men and breaking gender biases in literary discourse created by men. This article also contributes to scholarly research on feminist theory in the world.

Abstract 5439: MDM2 inhibitor alrizomadlin (APG-115) stabilizes p53 and synergizes with proteasome inhibitors in multiple myeloma

Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for about 2% of all cancers and 18% of all hematologic malignancies in the US. Newly developed treatments (e.g., immunomodulators, proteasome inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies) have significantly improved outcomes, but MM inevitably relapses and is considered incurable. Genomic analysis shows that the TP53 gene encoding tumor suppressor protein p53 is infrequently mutated in patients with MM, of whom about 82% retain wild-type (WT) TP53. Mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that inhibits p53 via proteasome degradation. Proteasome inhibitors might help to stabilize p53 and synergize with MDM2 inhibitors. Therefore, MDM2 inhibitors that activate p53 might constitute an attractive pharmacologic approach to MM. Alrizomadlin (APG-115) is an investigational, new small molecule targeting the p53/MDM2 interaction and is in clinical development for solid and hematologic cancers. This study aimed to evaluate whether alrizomadlin can potentiate the antitumor effects of proteasome inhibitors in MM. In cell-based antiproliferation studies, alrizomadlin demonstrated selective activity against WT TP53 MM cell lines, including MOLP-8, H929, and MM1S, with IC50 values of 0.495 ± 0.132 µM, 0.259 ± 0.251 µM, and 0.325 ± 0.105 µM, respectively. In contrast, alrizomadlin was inactive against TP53-mutant MM cell lines (IC50 >10 µM). In MM cell lines, APG-115 exhibited synergistic activity with anti-MM agents (e.g., carfilzomib, lenalidomide, melphalan, selinexor) and other targeted agents (e.g., panobinostat, bromodomain inhibitor OTX-015, tumor necrosis factor-related apoptotic-inducing ligand). In vivo studies showed that coadministration of alrizomadlin with proteasome inhibitor bortezomib or carfilzomib enhanced tumor regression (vs. single agents) in H929 xenograft models. As to mechanism, alrizomadlin likely disrupts MDM2/p53 interactions and induces accumulation of p53, MDM2, and downstream proteins 4 hours after treatment. The proteasome inhibitors induced dose-related increases in p53 protein expression 24 hours after treatment. The combination of carfilzomib with alrizomadlin further promoted accumulation of p53 and MDM2 and increased phosphorylation of p53. As a transcription factor, p53: (1) activated expression of p21 to cause cell cycle arrest (2) augmented downstream BCL-2-associated X protein (BAX) and p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA), (3) increased cleavage of caspase-3 and poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1; hallmarks of apoptosis), and (4) increased apoptosis and associated antitumor effects. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the combination of MDM2 inhibitor APG-115 and proteasome inhibitors have synergistic antitumor effects on MM tumors harboring WT TP53. These data lay a foundation for clinical trials of a new and novel therapeutic option for patients with refractory MM. Citation Format: Guangfeng Wang, Eric Liang, Chunyang Tang, Li Rui, Ping Min, Jing Lv, Yangfeng Ge, Fei Zhang, Lvcheng Wang, Jingjin Shang, Dajun Yang, Yifan Zhai. MDM2 inhibitor alrizomadlin (APG-115) stabilizes p53 and synergizes with proteasome inhibitors in multiple myeloma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 5439.

Abstract 1463: ATP-site inhibitor olverembatinib, HQP1351, enhanced the effect of allosteric inhibitor on the resistance conferred by the compound mutations of BCR-ABL

Abstract Treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) directed against the ATP-binding site of BCR-ABL promotes recovery of Ph+ leukemia. However, emergence of gatekeeper mutation T315I and compound mutants confer resistance to these TKIs. The allosteric inhibitor, asciminib, effectively inhibits BCR-ABL kinase through binding to the myristoyl-binding site. Combining asciminib with ponatinib can overcome only a subset of the resistance caused by BCR-ABL compound mutants. Olverembatinib (HQP1351) is a new generation TKI targeting BCR-ABL and currently in development for r/r CML. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a novel combination of olverembatinib and asciminib, targeting both ATP pocket and allosteric region of BCR-ABL protein, can promote the inhibitory effect on the kinase harboring compound mutations. A series of cell lines expressing BCR-ABL single or compound mutations were constructed based on BaF3 murine pro-B cell line. Effect of olverembatinib as a single agent or in combination with asciminib were analyzed using antiproliferation assay, Western blot and FACS assays in vitro. In vivo efficacy was evaluated using the syngeneic mouse model derived from BaF3 cells with T315I or compound mutations. The cell based antiproliferation studies demonstrated superior activity of olverembatinib toward BCR-ABL single or compound mutations with IC50 values ranging between 6-300 nM. In particular, olverembatinib was more effective than ponatinib, asciminib and other TKIs against those compound mutations. Moreover, the combination of olverembatinib with asciminib was highly effective against BCR-ABL compound mutations, especially those containing T315I. In vivo studies further revealed that co-administration of olverembatinib with asciminib resulted in significant prolongation of survival compared to single agents. Importantly, the anti-tumor effect was more potent than that of ponatinib plus asciminib in models harboring compound mutations. In terms of mechanism, the combined treatment synergistically downregulated phosphorylation of BCR-ABL and the downstream proteins CRKL and STAT5, and augmented cleavage of Caspase-3 and PARP-1, thus triggered apoptosis and subsequently enhanced the antitumor effects. Our results demonstrated that the combination of ATP binding site inhibitor olverembatinib and allosteric inhibitor have synergistic anti-tumor effect on tumor cells harboring single or compound mutations in BCR-ABL. This novel strategy may help to overcome the secondary compound mutations post the treatment with TKIs. Citation Format: Guangfeng Wang, Jing Lv, Chunyang Tang, Ping Min, Li Rui, Fei Zhang, Lvcheng Wang, Yangfeng Ge, Kejie Lian, Eric Liang, Dajun Yang, Yifan Zhai. ATP-site inhibitor olverembatinib, HQP1351, enhanced the effect of allosteric inhibitor on the resistance conferred by the compound mutations of BCR-ABL [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1463.

Reading Through Recovered Ancient Chinese Manuscripts ed. by Shirley Chan

Reviewed by: Reading Through Recovered Ancient Chinese Manuscripts ed. by Shirley Chan James Sellmann (bio) Reading Through Recovered Ancient Chinese Manuscripts. Edited by Shirley Chan. Sydney: The Oriental Society of Australia, Inc., 2020. Pp. xvii + 362. Shirley Chan and twelve other established scholars prepared fourteen insightful, detailed textual analyses of several of the recovered ancient Chinese manuscripts. The book consists of a Preface, Acknowledgements, fourteen chapters, and a list of contributors. The five chapter titles that begin with Chinese are written in Chinese, with English abstracts. In the Preface Shirley Chan notes the diversity in unity of the essays. The authors use their respective areas of specialization and different disciplinary methods to explicate the philosophical, philological, historical, and literary contents and contexts of the recovered texts. Their unifying focus is "how do these recovered texts shed new light on important aspects of ancient China, from text-thought interactions, mythology and philosophy to theoretical construction and philological analysis, scholastic lineages and their evolution pertaining to a particular genre of literature?" (pp. vii-viii). Most of the chapters are based on papers the authors had presented at a conference held at Macquarie University on "Reading the Old in the Light of the Newly Discovered: An International Symposium on Chinese Philosophy and Ancient Chinese Texts" in December 2014. The authors analyze several of the texts discovered over the past century that date to the pre-Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties, respectively. Cai Xianjin authored chapter 1, "上古宇宙生成論的創世文化思維Ancient Chinese Creation Myths and Cosmogony." It is often noted that early Greek mythology influenced the development of Greek philosophy. Sinologists who only focus on the Confucian classics tend to play down the role of mythology in the development of Pre-Qin (Chinese) philosophy. Cai compares two received texts, the Book of Changes and the Laozi, with four excavated texts, namely the Warring States Chu Silk Manuscript: Section 1 from Zidanku in Changsha, The "Great One Generates Water" (Taiyi sheng shui 太一生水) in the Guodian Bamboo Slips, the "Constancy, at the Outset" (Hengxian 恆 先) in the Shanghai Museum, and The Yellow Emperor's Four Classics: "Fundamentals of Dao" (Huangdi sijing: Daoyuan 黄帝四经：道原) in the Mawangdui Silk Manuscripts, and proceeds to argue that mythological genesis stories influenced the development of cosmogony and ontology in early Chinese philosophy. [End Page 1] Chapter 2 is by Shirley Chan, "From Nothing to Something: Reading the Shanghai Museum's Hengxian 恆 先 (Constancy, at the Outset)." After a concise review of how "constancy" (heng) is used in other pre-Qin works, Chan makes a strong case for her interpretation of the work's title, which underlies the interpretation she presents in the rest of the essay. She argues that the Hengxian develops a political philosophy and offers advice for the ruler and ministers to model the constancy of nature's cosmic patterns so as to maintain an orderly society and state. Chapter 3 is an English translation of a previously published article in Chinese by Li Rui. "The Early Chinese Concept of de 德 "explicates early uses of the character de to establish its fundamental meaning and how this meaning changed over time. Analyzing received and excavated texts to explore the meaning of de, qi, and dao, he builds a case that the Laozi further developed various connotations of these key concepts. Li argues that the development of an anthropocentric focus on efficacious praxis led to the promotion of de over the cosmic dao in Daoism. Hence, the HuangLao philosophers were moved to set the de chapters before the dao chapters of the Laozi as is seen in the arrangement of the Mawangdui Laozi. As dao studies continued to develop in the Han, scholars, likely Liu Xiang, rearranged the Laozi into its received order with the dao chapters preceding the de chapters. Ding Sixin authored "馬王堆帛書《易傳》的哲學思想 Philosophical Thinking in the Mawangdui Silk Manuscripts Yizhuan 易傳." Chapter 4 makes the case that the silk manuscript Yizhuan influenced the received edition. Chapter 5, entitled "Reading Laozi 老 子 Section 54," by Barbara Hendrischke, offers a comparative analysis of poem 54 by examining the various versions of the Laozi from Mawangdui and Guodian with the received Laozi, and comparing the text of poem 54 with the Great Learning, and especially the Hanfeizi's commentarial chapters...

Abstract 2204: Novel FAK/ALK/ROS1 inhibitor APG-2449 synergizes with osimertinib in preclinical xenograft models of EGFR-mutant NSCLC

Abstract Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) plays an important role in cell migration, growth factor signaling, cell cycle progression and cellular survival. It had been shown that FAK and SRC family kinases were able to sustain downstream AKT and MAPK signaling under continuous EGFR inhibition driven by osimertinib (AZD9291), a mutant-selective third-generation EGFR inhibitor. Incomplete inhibition of AKT and MAPK was consistently observed even under increased concentrations of osimertinib and led to acquired resistance to osimertinib, implicating the need of combination therapy with FAK/SRC inhibitors to enhance antitumor activity of osimertinib and overcome its resistance. APG-2449 is a novel oral active small-molecular inhibitor that targets FAK, ALK and ROS1. In this study, we investigated the effect of combination treatment with APG-2449 and osimertinib using NSCLC NCI-H1975 cells carrying EGFRL858R/T790M mutation and an osimertinib-resistant patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model carrying EGFRT790M/19del/C797S mutation. In vitro, the combination treatment with APG-2449 and osimertinib synergistically inhibited the proliferation of NCI-H1975 cells. In vivo, APG-2449 significantly enhanced antitumor activity of osimertinib in NCI-H1975 xenograft models, leading to complete or partial tumor regression. More profound antitumor activity of this combination was also demonstrated in the osimeritinib-resistant PDX model in comparison with single agents. In term of mechanism, the combination arm significantly suppressed the on-target phosphorylation of EGFR, FAK and SRC, as well as AKT and ERK in NCI-H1975 xenografts. Collectively, these results suggest that addition of APG-2449 to osimeritinib may enhance antitumor activity and suppress the development of resistance in NSCLC. Citation Format: Guangfeng Wang, Douglas D. Fang, Ping Min, Ran Tao, Chunyang Tang, Shoulai Gu, Li Rui, Jiajun Li, Jingwen Wang, Miaoyi Wu, Yingfeng Li, Dingxiong Chen, Fei Zhang, Kejie Lian, Feifei Zhang, Lvcheng Wang, Rongcheng Xu, Dajun Yang, Yifan Zhai. Novel FAK/ALK/ROS1 inhibitor APG-2449 synergizes with osimertinib in preclinical xenograft models of EGFR-mutant NSCLC [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2204.

Characteristics of hydraulic fracture surface based on 3D scanning technology.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171845.].

Scholars' recreation of two traditions of mathematical commentaries in late eighteenth-century China

This paper aims to shed light on two different mathematical practices in late eighteenth-century China. For this purpose, we analyze two solutions to the “three problems of the eastward motion of fixed stars” (恒星東行三題) that were given separately by Jiang Sheng (江聲) and Li Rui (李銳), who were both Qian-Jia scholars in the same region of eastern China. By comparing their modes of problem-solving, of reasoning and of computation, we suggest that the mathematical practices they employed represent the recreation of two traditions of mathematical commentaries by Qian-Jia scholars.

Li Rui(李銳)’s Novel Zhangmadingde dibatian(≪張馬丁的第八天≫) ― Focused on The Boxer Uprising and The Shape of Character

Li Rui(李銳)’s Novel Zhangmadingde dibatian(≪張馬丁的第八天≫) ― Focused on The Boxer Uprising and The Shape of Character

Visions of dystopia in China's new historical novels

Visions of Dystopia in China's New Historical Novels, by Jeffrey C. Kinkley. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. Pp. xvi + 285. $50.00 (hardcover)Written with rare fusion of erudition, subtlety, and clarity, Jeffrey C. Kinkley's Visions of Dystopia in China's New Historical Novels is groundbreaking study in modern Chinese and comparative literature. Kinkley treats seventeen novels by several of China's preeminent contemporary authors-Mo Yan, Su Tong, Yu Hua, Zhang Wei, Li Rui, Han Shaogong, Wang Anyi, and Ge Fei-and performs double interpretive move by arguing that these works exhibit characteristics of two global literary forms-the new historical novel (nueva novella historica) of the Latin American Boom in the 1960s and 1970s commonly associated with Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Mario Vargas Llosa, and the dystopian novel whose canonical examples may include George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and other Anglophone and Slavic works from lineage that can be traced back to Thomas More and Edward Bellamy. Kinkley posits that the new historical novel is type of fiction that denies and defies previous national historical narrative, typically with political edge that bears heavy implications for the present and future (7) with multi--- era epics that unfold across generations . . . [to critically] reinterpret the past from vantage point in later times (2). The dystopian novel, meanwhile, conveys inexorable and unbounded social---moral decline, particularly if that decline was engendered by would---be utopian social schemes (20), whether the author's dystopian visions explore the dangers of totalitarianism in science---fictional, post--- apocalyptic setting (as is more common in the classic Anglophone and Slavic traditions) or the rise and fall of mythic town in realist, surrealist, or magical realist setting (as is more common in the Latin American, Caribbean, and Chinese streams). Kinkley's provocative thesis is not simply that the masterpieces of contemporary Chinese literature intersect with these two global traditions, but rather that in the Chinese case the new historical novel and the dystopian novel are one and the same.After recasting China's new historical novels as significant contributors to global discourse of dystopia, in the second chapter Kinkley develops detailed analysis of the use of temporal ambiguity in China's new historical novels. Through combination of close reading and formal analysis, Kinkley identifies the chronological reference points and temporal logics in each of his key examples in this chapter-Su Tong's The Gardener's Act, My Life as Emperor, and Nineteen Thirty---Four Escapes, Yu Hua's Cries in the Drizzle, To Live, and Chronicle of Blood Merchant, Mo Yan's Red Sorghum, and Zhang Wei's September's Fable. He analyzes instances in which the author withholds information about the novel's historical setting from the reader, creates intentional gaps in time, or allows anachronistic phenomena (servants and rickshaw pullers, for example) to surface. Distinguishing parody and anachronism in this phase of Chinese creativity from the same group of authors' uses of chronological paradoxes and non---sequiturs in 1980s avant---garde fiction, Kinkley argues that the new historical novels deliberately deny the reader clear chronological bearings to accomplish several goals. Some do so to articulate pessimistic view of history, social change, and human nature, while others question the validity of historical judgments, including the competence of the narrator's personal memories or of the narrative's own viewpoint in metafictional terms. Above all, Kinkley argues that the blurring of events before and after the Communist revolution controverts the standard conceptions of progress in official historiography in order to create a sense of anomie and discomfort with Maoist myths of utopia.Chapter three, Projections of Historical Repetition, examines the depiction of dystopia as historical circularity. …

A Study on the Chinese Youth Director Li Rui Jun

A Study on the Chinese Youth Director Li Rui Jun

The Influence of Qing Dynasty Editorial Work on the Modern Interpretation of Mathematical Sources: The Case of Li Rui's Edition of Li Ye's Mathematical Treatises

ArgumentRecent studies in Sinology have shown that Qing dynasty editors acted as philologists. This paper argues that the identification of their philological methods and editorial choices suggests that their choices were not totally neutral and may have significantly shaped the way modern historians interpreted specific works edited by mathematicians of that dynasty. A case study of the re-edition in 1798 of a Song dynasty treatise, theYigu yanduan(1259), by a Qing dynasty mathematician will illustrate this point. At the end of the eighteenth century, Li Rui (1773–1817) was asked to prepare an edition of the mathematical works written by Li Ye (1192–1279) for a private collection. Li Rui was a talented mathematician, but he was also a meticulous editor and trained philologist. He adopted his editorial model from the preparation of the imperial encyclopaedia, theSiku quanshu, but Li Rui also made some corrections to the text in an effort to restore an older version of Li Ye's treatises that had been lost. Convinced of the Chinese origin of algebra, Li Rui used philological techniques to recover the lost materials and to restore the roots of “Chinese mathematics.” TheYigu yanduancontains two algebraic procedures to set up quadratic equations, one from the procedure ofCelestial Source(tian yuan shu) and the other from theSection of Pieces[of Areas] (tiao duan). Curiously, the second procedure has not yet attracted the attention of scholars so far, although Li Rui's edition is the one typically used by twentieth-century historians of mathematics. Today, theCelestial Sourcecharacterizes “Chinese algebra.” However, the specific concerns of Li Rui about the procedure ofCelestial Source, combined with his editorial methods, contributed to this perspective.

The History of mathematical proof in ancient traditions

Prologue: historiography and history of mathematical proof: a research program Karine Chemla Part I. Views on the Historiography of Mathematical Proof: 1. The Euclidean ideal of proof in The Elements and philological uncertainties of Heiberg's edition of the text Bernard Vitrac 2. Diagrams and arguments in ancient Greek mathematics: lessons drawn from comparisons of the manuscript diagrams with those in modern critical editions Ken Saito and Nathan Sidoli 3. The texture of Archimedes' arguments: through Heiberg's veil Reviel Netz 4. John Philoponus and the conformity of mathematical proofs to Aristotelian demonstrations Orna Harari 5. Contextualising Playfair and Colebrooke on proof and demonstration in the Indian mathematical tradition (1780-1820) Dhruv Raina 6. Overlooking mathematical justifications in the Sanskrit tradition: the nuanced case of G. F. Thibaut Agathe Keller 7. The logical Greek versus the imaginative Oriental: on the historiography of 'non-Western' mathematics during the period 1820-1920 Francois Charette Part II. History of Mathematical Proof in Ancient Traditions: The Other Evidence: 8. The pluralism of Greek 'mathematics' Geoffrey Lloyd 9. Generalizing about polygonal numbers in ancient Greek mathematics Ian Mueller 10. Reasoning and symbolism in Diophantus: preliminary observations Reviel Netz 11. Mathematical justification as non-conceptualized practice: the Babylonian example Jens Hoyrup 12. Interpretation of reverse algorithms in several Mesopotamian texts Christine Proust 13. Reading proofs in Chinese commentaries: algebraic proofs in an algorithmic context Karine Chemla 14. Dispelling mathematical doubts: assessing mathematical correctness of algorithms in Bhaskara's commentary on the mathematical chapter of the Aryabhatiya Agathe Keller 15. Argumentation for state examinations: demonstration in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese mathematics Alexei Volkov 16. A formal system of the Gougu method - a study on Li Rui's detailed outline of mathematical procedures for the right-angled triangle Tian Miao.

Zhan Guo Qin Han shiqi de xuepai wenti yanjiu by Li Rui (review)

Zhan Guo Qin Han shiqi de xuepai wenti yanjiu by Li Rui (review)

Li Rui, Mo Yan, Yan Lianke and Lin Bai

Translated from the Chinese by Xiao Cheng Li Rui, Mo Yan, Yan Lianke and Lin Bai are among the most highly regarded and widely discussed authors of contemporary Chinese literary fiction. They are a...

Zhao Ziyang's vision of Chinese Democracy

Zhao Ziyang's Vision of Chinese Democracy Zong Fengming, Zhao Ziyang: Captive Conversations (Zhao Ziyang: ruanjinzhong de tanhua), Hong Kong, Open Books, 2007, 400 pp.How thorough a democrat was Zhao Ziyang? This is an important question if one believes that political change in China is likely to come from the top down. Although the Party chiefs say they are leading China toward democracy, there is much debate about what they mean.(l) Among recent CCP leaders, Zhao was probably the most sympathetic to a conception of democracy resembling Western views. Others around him may have been more radical, such as Bao Tong and Li Rui (who wrote prefaces for this book), Li Shenzhi, and Zhao's conversation partner Zong Fengming,Zong Fengming was an old friend of Zhao's who had entered the Party at the same time and worked together with him in central China during the revolution. After 1949, Zong served in such posts as Party secretary in the 5. University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Hangkong hangtian daxue) and adviser to the State Economic Reform Commission (Guojia tigaiwei) (I7(5)). From July 1991 to October 2004, a period of 13 years, Zong visited Zhao at his home for a series of more than 100 meetings. With Zhao's knowledge, Zong went home and took notes from memory (zhuiji), saving them to publish after Zhao's death, which occurred in January 2003.But the evidence in Captive Conversations needs to be interpreted carefully. Even though the loss of political power freed Zhao to talk with Zong and other visitors, we gather from allusions scattered throughout the book that he still had to be careful about what he said. Zong's account of Zhao's conditions of house arrest is not only fascinating in itself as a glimpse at how the Party deals with its fallen leaders, but also provides a necessary context for interpreting Zhao's remarks.Zhao's conditions of house arrest and the conversationsZhao spent his fifteen-and-a-half years of house arrest at Number 6 Fuqiang hutong, in Beijing. Zong says that the house was previously occupied by Hu Yaobang (1), so it must not have been Zhao's own house or one he had occupied previously, but one assigned by the central Party apparatus for the purpose of house arrest. It was a traditional Beijing siheyuan with three courtyards. Zong says that the street was quiet and the house was guarded by a group of soldiers posted inside the big front gate. The front courtyard was occupied by the guards and by a secretarial office and sleeping rooms. The second courtyard was Zhao's study, and the inner courtyard contained the family living quarters. …

Dimensions of Guanxi in Chinese Elite Politics

Scholars of Communist Party recognize critical influences of guanxi on political behaviour. Lowell Dittmer, for example, argues that guanxi is the central term in our conceptualization of in China. Lowell Dittmer, Chinese Informal China Journal, No. 34 (July 1995), p. 10. Hans J. van de Ven identifies intense personal relationships in party cells during period when Party was born. Hans J. van de Ven, The Emergence of Text-Centered Party, in Tony Saich and Hans van de Ven (eds), New Perspectives on Communist Revolution (New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1995), p. 9. Zhang Guotao specified guanxi as primary force that ensured Party's survival when nationalists and Communists split from United Front in 1920s. See William W. Whitson with Chen-hsia Huang, High Command: A History of Communist Military Politics, 1927-1971 (New York: Praeger, 1973), p. 50. Other studies of CCP confirm pervasiveness of these interpersonal influences after founding of People's Republic. Li Rui's memoirs indicate important role of guanxi in pursuing political advantages and mutual protection in 1959 Lushan Plenum. Li Rui, Lushan huiyi shilu (True Record of Lushan Conference) (Zhengzhou: Henan Renmin Chubanshe, 1995), pp. 34, 74, 169, 280. Frederick C. Teiwes and Warren Sun deem personal ties an important factor in determining alignments of Party elite during Cultural Revolution. An excellent analysis is their in-depth examination of Lin Biao case, in which strong professional and personal ties played a significant role in bonding Lin's group together. Frederick C. Teiwes and Warren Sun, Tragedy of Lin Biao (London: Hurst and Company, 1996), pp. 38-42. In investigating elite politics during post-Mao period, Richard Baum sees zongpai (factions) as a decisive factor in politics and a source of significant irregularity in reform cycles. Baum defines zongpai as informal networks of

Guest Editors' Introduction

Li Rui is one of the foremost analysts in Mainland China of Mao Zedong's life and thought. His account of Mao's early life as a revolutionary has provided a major source for scholars both inside and outside China.1 His firsthand account of the Lushan Plenum (July 1959) provides a fascinating insight into one of the momentous meetings of the post-1949 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership.2 The post-Mao leadership sees this meeting as the start of Mao Zedong's "leftist" turn because of his treatment of Peng Dehuai who had raised criticisms of the strategy and effects of the Great Leap Forward. Like Mao's doctor, Li Zhisui, Li Rui had personal knowledge of Mao, having worked as his political secretary.3 Unlike the doctor, however, Li Rui does not dwell on the personal but seeks to analyze the development of Mao's thought, to place it within its historical context, and to assess the far-reaching effects it had on the development of China's economy and society.