Ting Guo’s Religion, Secularism, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China offers a compelling analysis of how “love” has been deployed as political discourse in China from the early 20th century to the present. The book establishes a theoretical framework connecting politics to both affect and spirituality, demonstrating how love has consistently functioned as a powerful political construct in modern China.

The historical narrative begins with a contrast between traditional Confucian notions of love and the more radical interpretations that emerged during the May 4th era as well as within both Nationalist and Communist movements. Guo then examines how Sun Yat-Sen and Soong Ching-ling, often called the “father and mother of modern China,” incorporated Christian concepts of love to envision new forms of national unity.

In discussing the rise of the Chinese Communist Party, Guo analyses what is termed “Mao’s political religion of love.” This chapter reveals how Mao’s strategic use of terminology established love as a bidirectional political affect flowing between leaders and people. This application of love, Guo argues, reinforced a form of “parental governance” where state–citizen relations are framed in familial terms. While this governance model has deep historical roots in China, the incorporation of love as political affect contributed to the formation of a political religion and cult of personality demanding intense devotion to Mao.

The post-Cultural Revolution period through contemporary China demonstrates the continued deployment of affective politics to strengthen parental governance, where “the people typically take on the role of injured children while the state becomes the angry parents” (p. 123). Guo connects this to current discourses of “gratitude” and “positive energy” that function to suppress public expressions of dissatisfaction. The analysis shows how love discourse, framed in contemporary Confucian terms, serves multiple functions: maintaining continuity with Chinese tradition, distinguishing China from Western influences, and supporting state ideologies that justify the oppression of women, minorities and dissidents (p. 132). The chapter concludes by examining how Xi Jinping’s relationship with his wife exemplifies the intertwining of personal and political realms in contemporary China.

The final analytical chapter focuses on post-handover Hong Kong, particularly Carrie Lam’s varied deployments of love during the 2019 protests. Lam’s expressions of love for Hong Kong are juxtaposed with her condemnation of protesters for showing a “lack of love” for the city. Guo illustrates how Lam used love discourse to reinforce a parental governance model connecting Hong Kong to mainland China, positioning herself as a “benevolent mother” serving as proxy to Xi as the nation’s benevolent father.

In the conclusion, Guo reviews previous discussions while highlighting love’s ubiquity in protest and dissent movements. This allows for a more hopeful ending that points to how love as political affect might be used to “re-define and re-enchant” political sentiments and social action.

The book effectively demonstrates that political discourses of love in China often concern power rather than genuine love. As a historical study, however, it primarily focuses on state discourse. There is limited description of how differently positioned individuals may have engaged with, resisted, or reimagined such discourse throughout history. The text could have also further explored Western influences on Chinese political love discourse, particularly after the Nationalist period. Additionally, the frequent equating of “affect” with “love” raises questions about connections between love and other political affects like anger and desire. Despite these limitations, Guo’s work offers a unique and comprehensive history of love in Chinese political language over the past century.