Wen-Hsuan Tsai is one of the world’s finest researchers and analysts on how the Chinese political system operates. In this new book, he insightfully depicts how, through a century of trial and error, China has shaped a system of aides to Chinese leaders that today plays a vital role in the Party-state’s effectiveness and sustainability.
--Jonathan Unger, Australian National University

Chinese communist politics is often said a black box for its extremely low transparency, but now Professor Tsai’s book provides an exploration into its most hidden part by revealing the structure and operation of the mishu system. As bringing the readers to the Chinese leaders’ offices for an in-depth tour, this book is a must read for understanding China’s leadership politics, elite dynamics, and decision-making mechanisms.
-- Guoguang Wu, Stanford University

Dr. Wen-hsuan Tsai is an eminent Taiwanese expert on China studies, having been trained at the Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies at National Chengchi University (Taiwan). Over the past 15 years, he has published numerous acclaimed works on Chinese politics. In this book, Wen-hsuan provides an in-depth analysis of the development of the Chinese Communist Party's staff (mishu) system and institutions. On the one hand, it helps us understand the opaque workings of CCP politics; on the other hand, it lays a foundation for future research on the political networks of CCP elites.
-- Chien-Wen Kou, National Chengchi University