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2The book is based on an ethnographic method combining interviews and surveys.It consists of six main chapters, plus a relatively short concluding chapter. Chapter One introduces the background of the research and the organisation of the book. It draws on a comprehensive literature review that extensively uses both non-Chinese and Chinese language sources. Chapter Two develops an analytical framework for the study and raises a new concept of “juniority” that captures the process of conditioning youth as a “junior” political subject. Chapters Three and Four focus on the CYL’s operation on campus and in the workplace, and questions the League’s responsiveness by using both first- and second-hand data. Chapter Five examines the Central League School’s (tuanxiao 團校) education programmes and its operations at the local level, as well as the national exchange programmes for CYL cadres. Chapter Six investigates the CYL’s efforts to promote youth employment, youth infrastructure, and public consultation processes, and finds that those activities have been de-prioritised and exhibits poor results because of their “juniority” status, which gives them limited ability to mobilise “senior” government departments. The book concludes with an appraisal of its main findings and evaluates the CYL’s efforts in addressing the demands of its constituency.

3Its main merits are threefold. First, the author’s arguments are based on solid fieldwork carried out in Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang and Shandong Provinces, and on interviews with 60 informants. In describing his method and presenting empirical evidence, Tsimoniscarefully examines theimpact of“juniority,” which is institutionalised and normalised in the League,and advancestheunderstanding of the CYL’s evolution in contemporary China. Second, the book includes substantial scholarly appendices and a well-produced index, offering valuable information that allows readers to gain a better understanding of the research. For example, Appendix Two lists nationwide CYL activities from 1963 to 2007. This information stretching over 28 pages includes each activity’s name in Chinese and English translation, the year it was initiated, a description of the content and/or activity, the responsible/leading institution, and the target group(s). Third,the book cites both classical and current references in English and Chinese,demonstrating a comprehensive knowledge of the field. The literature review is informed by a historical sense that demonstrates how current policies under President Xi Jinping are built on the foundations of the past.

5In sum, in a context with very few empirical studies on the evolution of the CYL in contemporary China, the publication ofTsimonis’s book isan important milestone in the field. AsTsimonis points out in the concluding chapter, young people in China and in the West may share common problems under a “juniority” status from a broader global perspective; therefore, empirical comparative studies focusing on specific states would be a potential avenue for further research.

HEALY, Paul Michael. 1982.The Chinese Communist Youth League, 1949-1979. Griffith Asian Papers, No. 4. Nathan: Griffith University, School of Modern Asian Studies.

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