This collection of six essays traces the path of modern Chinese history from the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949 to the present day. It describes the transition from the early belief that denial and hard work combined with Marxism and Maoism would create a utopia of material abundance, to the disappointment of this belief and the growth of nihilism (the belief that failure is the only possible outcome of revolutionary endeavour). In this transition, which the author describes as the path from faith to cynicism, Marxism became China's road to capitalism. Each essay approaches the topic from a different viewpoint: the consequences of creating revolutionary expectations, the destruction of historical memory and traditional culture, the paralysis of will resulting from continual failures, the contradiction between means and goals, the effects of continually deferring returns on one's effort to future generations, and the results of basing commitments on constantly shifting beliefs.