1989 Tiananmen Square protests trying to block the military's advance towards Tiananmen Square. The number of civilian deaths has been estimated variously from 180 to 10,454. Set against a backdrop of rapid economic development and social changes in post-Mao Zedong China, the protests reflected anxieties about the country's future in the popular consciousness and among the political elite. The reforms of the 1980s had led to a nascent market economy which benefitted some people, but seriously disaffected others and the one-party political system also faced a challenge of legitimacy. Common grievances at the time included inflation, limited preparedness of graduates for the new economy
A Tiananmen Journal Tiananmen Journal" is based on Feng's "Memo of 1989 Student Protests" (八九學運備忘錄), first drafted in 1990. To ensure the details of the activities are in correct order and what he heard from others during the protests was truthful, Feng started editing his "Memo" and adding footnotes in the following eighteen years, before finally publishing them in the book, "A Tiananmen Journal". The book is divided into nine chapters: It briefly records the 1987 student protest at Tiananmen Square on New Year's Day. Some of the students were angry about the "Ten Regulations" (十條) issued by the government on 26 December