According to the official history, China is the world’s oldest continuous civilization, a special and exceptional place with a mandate from heaven. It enjoyed its rightful place as the leader of all nations until it was undermined by foreigners in the 19th century. This exploitation was finally thrown off by a glorious revolution of the people. Some minor mistakes were made, but the evidence is clear that the plan is working, and prosperity and greatness are now the birthright of every Chinese.

Like all myths, it is just true enough.The accuracy of the grand Chinese myth is not as important as its practical effect. The people of China believe they are exceptional. They are unique and important and special, and it is because of their nation. They are a shining city on a hill.

While many other countries are patriotic and some are chauvinistic, few possess a true sense of manifest destiny. In fact, the only other country with a similarly overpowering sense of national purpose is the United States.

The myth of the American Dream and their own sense of exceptionalism drive the subconscious reflections of many Americans about their country, and they are as loosely related to reality as the myths of the Chinese … Both nations feature fierce and growing disparity in wealth, a thrusting international posture and, perhaps most dangerously, a belief in their own inevitable greatness drawn from mythology. A clash between the two could be inevitable if both claim a mandate from heaven.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: history, national identity, United States
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Thought control, in terms of imposing an official orthodoxy, is a very old tradition. The official glue that has long been applied to hold Chinese society together is a kind of state dogma, loosely known as Confucianism, which is moral as well as political, stressing obedience to authority. This is what officials like to call Chinese culture.

One can take a more cynical view, of course, and see culture as a mere fig leaf meant to hide the machinations of political power. The latest Chinese salvo against the U.S., blaming the Americans for instigating rebellion in Iran through the Internet, reveals that the current spat has a hard (and opportunistic) political core. And the assumption that Google, as a Chinese editorial put it, is a “political pawn” of the U.S. government, is a clear case of projection.

In any case, instilling the belief that obedience to authority is not just a way to keep order, but an essential part of being Chinese, is highly convenient for those who wield authority, whether they be fathers of a family or rulers of the state. That is why in their efforts to promote democracy after World War I, Chinese intellectuals denounced Confucianism, with its rigid social hierarchy, as an outmoded orthodoxy which had to be eradicated.

For another historical perspective on the Google issue and the fight for Internet freedom, see this essay by Geremie R. Barmé.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Confucianism, freedom of expression, Googlecn, Internet control, national identity
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Apart from its extraordinary longevity and bursts of efflorescent invention, the most striking feature of Chinese history is the fact that while Europe, following the fall of the Roman empire, fragmented into many parts, and ultimately into many nations, China was already moving in exactly the opposite direction and starting to coalesce. It is this unity that has ensured the continuity of its civilisation and also provided the size which remains so fundamental to China’s character and impact. Unity is one of the most fundamental propositions concerning Chinese history, if not the most fundamental.

If Europe provided the narrative and concepts that have informed not just western but world history over the past two centuries, so China may do rather similarly for the next century or so, and thereby furnish the world with an entirely different story and set of concepts: namely the idea of unity rather than fragmentation, that of the civilisation state rather than the nation state, that of the tributary system rather than the Westphalian system, a distinctive Chinese notion of race, and an organising political dynamic of centralisation/decentralisation rather than modernisation/conservatism.

See also a debate about the rise of China between Jacques and Will Hutton on the Guardian’s website.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: China's future, China's rise, national identity
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Let me give a number of examples of how China is and will remain different. Although for the last century it has described itself as a nation-state, in fact at its core China is a civilisation-state. The Chinese think of themselves primarily not as a nation but as a civilisation; all those things that constitute a sense of Chinese identity long predate China’s short life as a nation-state. And the logic of a civilisation-state is very different: a necessary toleration of diversity because of the country’s sheer size (as illustrated by the “one country, two systems” formula for Hong Kong); and a state which has for centuries been seen as the guardian of civilisation and therefore organic to society in a way quite different from the west.

And Will Hutton responds:

I find the notion that countries are condemned by their past to a future cast in the same mould empirically and philosophically wrong. The “civilisation state” is an empty construct: all states reflect their civilisations which in turn contain traditions that are in tension – individualism and collectivism, freedom and authority. If you mean that China is racially homogenous, what are your readers to make of that explosive claim? It is akin to claiming that everyone in the west is white, and therefore we think the same. But we don’t. In any case there are vast cultural differences between the great agricultural provinces of Shandong and Henan and the bustling commerciality of the Pearl River delta and Shanghai. Do you not believe that there is a universal appetite for due desert for effort, for dignity and for the capacity to express self – and which Chinese culture amply expresses itself outside China in Taiwan, and in its own history? China’s history is pockmarked with epic revolts against tyrannical dynasties excusing their tyranny as fealty to “Chineseness”.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: China's future, democracy, national identity
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The nationalist feelings that have been rising and falling in recent years reflect the anxiety of the Chinese people over their self-identity. Our anxiety is causing the whole world to be anxious about that anxiety.

Are you Chinese? Why is that so? What is this question important? Why be so sensitive? How shall the Chinese people get along with people from other nations? Conversely, how shall people from other nations get along with the Chinese people? Why do they hurt the nationalist feelings of the Chinese people so readily? Is obtaining American citizenship a betrayal of the motherland? If so, how can we explain the rage of the American Chinese during the anti-CNN affair last year?

… My greatest enlightenments this time are the immutability of self-identify and the right of individuals to form their own identities. In all the previous “insults to China” incidents, our most frequent mistake is deny others of the right to form their own identities and instead demand that they have to think uniformly. If we realize that each person has many truths and illusions about his self-identity and each truth and illusion is different, then we can understand why people have different reactions to the same issue.

The most important thing is that each person should accept responsibility for his choice and not worry about the attitudes of other people. If you have a view about the Diaoyutai Islets, then your main effort should be to articulate your views loudly and clearly and even put them into action. You should not be spending all day watching your neighbors and be prepared to denounced them at any time.

Zhang Ping, who writes under the pen name Chang Ping, is one of China’s most respected editorial writers. He won an annual award for his news commentary column in China’s most liberal and influential newspaper: the Southern Weekend. He served as deputy editor of the Southern Metropolis Weekly until March of 2008. Before that, Zhang served as director of news of Southern Weekend as well as deputy editor of the Bund Pictorial. He was removed from the Southern Weekend deputy editor position in 2001 after the paper published hard-hitting investigative reports. He has also worked for the Chengdu Economic Daily, China’s first market-oriented publication. Zhang Ping is currently the chief researcher of the Communication Research Institute of the Southern Metropolis News.

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chang Ping, national identity
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Chinese nationalism was a hot topic this year, quite the opposite of the usual criticism directed at China, whether it be her food safety issues, human rights record, environmental policies, or the authoritarian regime’s repressive techniques and censorship. Indeed, China has strived to improve its image, culminating this year with the Beijing Olympics 2008, where nationalism played an integral role in expressing the pride and glory of China’s rise and achievements. However, as in the Belgrade embassy bombing in 1999 and the anti-Japanese protests in 2005, nationalistic citizens have an agenda of their own, sometimes promoting state agenda and ideology, but not always working in favor for the government. CDT has collected these stories over the past year. Here are some of highlight events that have sparked a wave of nationalism:

In the months prior to the Olympics, the Lhasa riots in March that spurred a movement of by nationalistic netizens, termed “angry youth” or fenqing by the domestic press. With the dual images of China, the nationalists sided with the “left,” (conservative), creating websites like anti-CNN.com that became a leader against the perceived Western media bias. The effect was immediate, with responses from Western media after pressure from these netizens. No one was immune to their wrath. The elite “right,”(liberals) like Southern Metropolitan Weekly editor Chang Ping, made slight criticism on the rationality of these “angry youth” and was deemed a traitor, eventually stepping down from his role as editor.

Indeed the nationalistic wave was soon shown to be fickle and quite polarized. During the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris, Jin Jing, was once glorified as a hero for her role, then vilified a week later as a traitor for her comments on the Carrefour boycotts. Grace Wang, a Duke University student trying to bridge the gap between Tibet protesters and Chinese citizens came under attack and showed the power of “human search engines” and netizens when they find their target. Even the official government was relatively quiet during all of this, only stepping in to direct the nationalistic energies to more “constructive” purposes and the police and universities’ trying to cancel student protests.

During the Sichuan Earthquake, the nationalism was directed toward grieving and the rebuilding the nation.
And even aggrieved parents stayed quiet for the Olympics.

As for the Olympics, the promotion of athletes (e.g.Liu Xiang), even Olympic marketing and publicity had a nationalism spin.

The reaction to the Tibetan riots, Carrefour boycotts have dwindled down while the Olympics were happening. After the Olympics, nationalism was still around, but no major event triggered as strong as the reaction prior to the Olympics.

Sometimes, nationalism attacks were on a smaller cultural scale such as Gong Li changing her citizenship to Singapore or the film Kung Fu Panda. The refueling of between Japanese and Chinese students or manifesting in the Japan train controversy. Nationalism can also create mass movements such as Crazy English.

Here are the highlights of how some have interpreted nationalism’s role in today’s China:

As ethnicity discrimination

Its impact on marketing

Formation of a new nationalism

How history has impacted the telling of Chinese nationalism

The youth movement as similar to Tiananmen

Why China is so touchy about tarnishing their image

As pessimists/optimist

Journalists on Tibet & Olympics

Scholars defining nationalism

Nationalism and how to avoid its dangers

The danger in Chinese democracy with nationalism.

Indeed the question about where nationalism stems from can be seen from many points of view, as xenophobic (seen in Shanghainese discrimination), specifically anti-West or pro-China. State propaganda certainly plays a role in the formation of a nationalistic identity, with some deeming nationalism as “soft power” for the state propaganda. Certainly in China’s first spacewalk after the Olympics not only diverted attention from the food safety issues and instilled legitimacy in the CCP’s rule, but created a sense of pride within the nation. State propaganda doesn’t just use nationalism as a tool, but also more broadly builds on ideology on a “harmonious society.” In reaction to individual stories, such as the teacher murders in October, the state stressed state ideology to focus more on moral education.

The internet played a large role in spreading the nationalistic sentiment. With the spread of information through the internet, the state has even had to change their strategy of censorship, leaking the story out first and spinning the story to their favor.

There are several debates on angry youth from Chinese media and Western media.

2008! China Stand Up Video made on April 15, 2008

The internet’s power in nationalism creates a cyber nationalism that can be seen as a threat as it breaks down physical boundaries. Already, the role of the internet not only mass mobilizes people in China, but overseas Chinese as well.

The state acknowledges that the internet is powerful and can be a tool, as in nationalism, as well as a threat. There has been limits to the internet including censorship, crack downs on internet cafes, and deeming too much online time as an addiction. Chinese bloggers have also noted the power of the internet. And Chinese netizens in response to censorship have been creative.

The role of nationalism has certainly had an affect on the events of this year, but where nationalism’s future lies, is another question. Certainly, democracy is constantly being questioned in China. However, the internet will play an integral role in how nationalism will fare. Especially if the state is unable to contain the Internet and the spread of information and opinions, whether the polarizing affect of nationalism will occur in the future is another question and the rise of more moderate voices. Already, the internet has been shown to be the site of critiques of the government, questioning corruption and mismanagement as in the “Changzhi New Deal” in response to the Shanxi mining and landslide accidents, with individual bloggers getting their voices heard, like Wuyeusanren and Woeser on Tibet. The 4th Annual Blogger Conference just wrapped up and as tech blogger Gang Lu pointed out, the internet in China is diverse and expanding with censorship only being a part of the Chinese blogosphere.

On the other side, the state is also hitting back, with more people being harassed, even arrested for blogging and online or off-line commentary, as Chen Daojun for his comments on the Lhasa riots and Yang Shiqun, a professor for his criticisms of the government.

Read more of CDT’s tags on Internet culture and Online Culture to find out more about the Netizen Role and Culture in Nationalism.

See CDT’s Nationalism and Chinese Nationalism tags for the full collection of stories relating to this topic.

© jleung for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2008, China 2008, China's image, Internet culture, national identity, nationalism
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At the glitzy show that China will unveil to the world at the opening ceremonies on Friday, it is Confucius again who will be exalted.

Leaks from rehearsals suggest there will be no mention of Mao or any other Communist, but plenty of ancient dynasties, calligraphy, painting, giant scrolls and a quotation from Confucius about the pleasure of welcoming “friends who visit from afar.”

The long-awaited opening of the Beijing Olympics, the biggest event in China’s recent political history, will help define China’s emerging self-image as it shifts into a new era of power and pride on the global stage.

Reaching deep into its pre-revolutionary history, China is increasingly drawing on the patriotism of its people, a patriotism based not on ideology but on the glories of China’s ancient culture, bolstered today by the technological and military prowess of an economic superpower.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Confucianism, guoxue, Mao Zedong, national identity, soft power
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Over coffee, a woman explained to her friend that her husband spent every summer in Canada, where they had a house, while her daughter was in Australia at university.

She kept the apartment in Hong Kong, where her mother lived in another apartment upstairs; her son was setting up house in Shanghai.

But Hong Kong was still home for all of them.

It was a typical Hong Kong conversation and, for its middle classes at least, an unsurprising combination of locales and loyalties, with this ethnically Chinese family boasting at least three different kinds of travel documents.

But nowadays in Hong Kong, political manoeuvring has raised the status of passports to indicators of patriotism – a loaded term generally taken here to mean support not just for China as a nation but for the current communist government in Beijing.

© Liu Yong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: national identity, patriotism
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From AP, via Baynews9.com:

David Tang is famous for founding the Shanghai Tang label that put Mandarin-collared shirts, cheongsam dresses and other Chinese-style fashion on boutique shelves from New York to Paris.But one of his big regrets, he says, is that the clothes aren’t more popular in China.

The 52-year-old Hong Kong fashion mogul was recently watching China’s legislature on TV, and the one thing that jumped out at him was that most of the lawmakers were wearing near-identical Western clothes, he said.

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Read the rest of Designer Tang Pushes Fashion in China – Sylvia Hui (38 words)

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2007. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: David Tang, fashion, national identity, Shanghai Tang
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Northern Thailand is only one of their destinations. Large numbers of Chinese are also moving into northern Myanmar, northern Laos, Cambodia and further abroad – including the Pacific islands, Australia, the United States, the Russian Far East and Japan. More recently, South Korea has become a popular destination for Chinese migrants – both legal and illegal – as it’s easier to enter than tightly sealed Japan.

China’s new migrants are a breed apart from their peripatetic forebears, who spoke regional dialects and exhibited little nationalism, identifying more with the localities in China from which they hailed. The recent arrivals not only speak the national Mandarin language, but also tend to identify with China as a whole. [Full text]

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2007. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: emigrants, national identity, Southeast Asia, thailand
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The question seemed innocuous enough when it appeared in an online poll this month on the popular Chinese Internet portal Netease: Would you like to be Chinese in the next life?

It is the answer that proved dangerous. Sixty-four percent of respondents replied no, with some of them commenting that to be Chinese lacked dignity.

Many foreign readers of such news might have felt a sense of surprise by the results. After all, why would such a clear majority of respondents prefer not to be citizens of a country that has progressed so dramatically on so many levels in the last generation? Moreover, with signs of prosperity springing up everywhere, what would motivate a large number of the participants to invoke a lack of dignity in their lives?

The Chinese government supplied the beginnings of an answer in the days that followed the poll. The editor of Netease was removed from his job, effectively banned from meaningful work for having conveyed opinions deemed contrary to the official view. [Full text]

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2006. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Internet censorship, national identity, netease
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From The Guardian:

Chinese authorities have shut down an online survey that found most respondents would prefer a different nationality if they were born again. According to the South China Morning Post, two editors of the host website, NetEase, have also been fired in the past few days, prompting speculation that they have been punished for organising the poll.

Electronic surveys are popular in China, but while the authorities tolerate voting for TV pop idols they are uneasy about polls on sensitive political subjects. This did not deter NetEase, which asked readers of its 163.com game site: “Would you like to be Chinese if you had a second life?” [Full text]

See also Wenxuecity.com’s post (translated by CDT):

The survey, started on Sept. 4 and ended on Sept. 10, registered 10,234 votes with 64% saying “don’t want to be a Chinese in the next life.” Unfortunately but not surprisingly, the poll was whitewashed well before its original plan to run through October 11. (Note: the poll page is now pure white, unlike most deleted pages where visitors can see an automated error message.)

(...)
Read the rest of Online survey axed after most reject Chinese identity – Jonathan Watts (149 words)

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2006. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Internet culture, national identity, netease
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The Communist Party of China appears to have taken a considered political decision to restore Confucius to his traditional place of pride at the centre of Chinese worldview. As it copes with growing economic inequalities and social tensions, the CPC believes Confucius might offer the right social and political medicine.

The restoration of Confucius involves not merely the negation of the intellectual history of the Communist Party but much of the modernist thought of the 20th century. The Chinese republicans ” both nationalists and Communists ” at the turn of the 21st century believed rejection of Confucius was critical for the building of a new nation based on “science and democracy”. When he launched the Cultural Revolution in the mid-1960s, Mao Zedong personally renewed political attacks on Confucianism as the bad social weed that must be eliminated.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2005. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Confucianism, national identity
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Discussion as how to promote Guoxue, or the study of traditional Chinese philosophy, literature and history has become heated again in China, following the recent announcement by the Beijing- based Renmin University of the upcoming September opening of its College of National Culture Study, the first such college in China since the founding of the People’s Republic…

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Read the rest of CEN: Study of national culture catches on in China (108 words)

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Post tags: Confucianism, guoxue, national culture, national identity
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