THE ROLE OF CULTURE IN THE REVITALISATION OF MODERN CHINA
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The articles China under Mao, The Taipings, the image of a capitalist roader, and the rectification campaign at Peking University detail the revolutionary changes China went through until its formation as the Peoples Republic of China. They show the contributions of prominent leaders, societies and ideologies towards the foundations of the present day`s republic. Present-day Chinese culture is an amalgamation of Chinese traditions and a westernized lifestyle.[1] Given the diverse social backgrounds that evinced in China during the first half of the 20th century, state formation was skewed towards their beliefs. The Chinese culture was an integral influence in the formation of the modern Chinese nation.
Culturally themed campaigns were vital in establishing and gathering a following during the Mao era. Peasants in rural areas, for example, were convinced of the need for communism through a promise of land reforms. China under Mao shows that Communists appealed to the peasantry for the championing of traditional culture. The wake of capitalism from Americans’ ideology had clashed the local way of life where natives were farmers by tradition. As such, the quest for a socialist regime tapped on the need of revitalizing local culture through land reforms. with the market rationality of expanding global capitalism. However, achieving the desired changes was also culturally challenged. China was used to wars whenever a regime change was close. According to Allen, the existence of divisions in society and the absence of a culture of tolerance and power-sharing, the destruction of the tyrannical regime may result in violent intergroup conflicts, with no indigenous force capable of imposing a peace settlement and building a condition of persisting physical security.[2] As such, conflict occurred once the rural revolutionaries faced urban settlers who had adopted the western culture and were mainly capitalist. Denying the existence of diversity, and creating a new taxonomy where diverse groups existed in China, would positively impact State building and prevent degradation of Chinese culture by western influence. Hence, culture was instrumental in addressing the challenges of establishing China as a socialist state.
Liberals in pre-republic China were mainly intellectuals trained in western schools and ideologies. Their view of China`s backwardness was a state rich in opportunities for the promotion of western ideology including democracy and capitalism. Andrew Walder in China under Mao opines that China`s intellectuals were liberals who believed in democratic statehood and the freedom of intellectual inquiry. However, their influence would potentially derail the objective of the Chinese Communist Party`s (CCP) policies. As such, the communists resulted in the prevention of liberal influence among the population by enacting denunciation meetings and criticism campaigns against western culture. Thus, a conflict between two adopted cultures, socialism and capitalism, evinced. The exchange resulted in the revolutionaries` requirement of scholars to denounce liberal philosophers for their reactionary standpoints. Hence, the liberal view was mainly unwelcomed in the revitalization of modern china.
Nationalists viewed China`s backwardness as a weakness when compared to other nations especially in Europe. China`s abilities as a nation were believed to match those of Russia, Britain, and France. Losing the Sino-Japanese was a humiliation to the Chinese. China believed to be culturally superior to Japan given the latter`s previous borrowing of the Han Chinese writing system and practice of Confucianism. Karl, in The Taipings, argues that attempts to convince the Qing to adopt progressive policies did not bear fruit. As such, the reformists fled to foreign countries such as Japan, where reformist ideologies were sympathized with. Although the culture of promoting ideology and regimes through violence seemed to dominate the revolutionary discourse, nationalistic practices seem to have arisen from the nation`s liberal practices. Due to capitalism, the acquisition of cultural prestige in the urban setting evinced a survival for the fittest practice. However, elite revolutionaries also proposed peaceful strategies to build a better nation. The Taipings details Sun Yatsen`s principles of an economically productive, politically democratic, and globally sovereign China. While the principles stemmed from a communist, their nationalistic values aimed at promoting socialism by forestalling violence caused by capitalist divisions. Hence, patriotism and diverse cultures dominated the nationalism discourse while revolutionaries and reformists worked towards modern state-building.
Communists aimed at transforming China`s backwardness into a powerful socialist state. communists disregarded the need to go through capitalism to leap into socialism. CCP only required a strength, mobilized nationalists, and commitment to anti-capitalism and ideologies from America and the Soviet Union. For instance, the Soviet educational system was heavily rejected due to Chauvinism. According to the rectification campaign at Peking University, Chinese students preferred to learn literature from the west and the Soviet Union equally. As such, Chinese socialism evinced as a new and personalized ideology that fit solely the Peoples Republic of China. According to Dang, China did not experience times like the Enlightenment or massive democratic movements but has been heavily influenced by communist values since the last century.[3] Thus, most modern practices in China were carried forward from the past through communism. The communist party culture combined with the Confucian culture largely explains the absence of public participation in China.[4] Thus, modern culture in China is attributed to choices made by communists during the revolutionary wars.
The formation of China as a modern nation was largely influenced by culture. The diverse backgrounds and ideological exposure of the Chinese in the early 21st century evince China under Mao, The Taipings, The image of a capitalist roader, and the rectification campaign at Peking University. The challenges of establishing China as a socialist state, liberal views, and nationalism`s discourse were significantly influenced by Chinese cultural subscriptions. As such, modern-day Chinese culture is extensively communist as socialism was the winning ideology along with the values it promoted.
References
“Chinese Culture, Tradition, and Customs.” PSU-PKU, n.d, http://elements.science.psu.edu/psu-pku/student-resources/resources-for-penn-state-students/chinese-culture-tradition-and-customs
Buchanan, Allen. “Revolution.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, August 21, 2017, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/revolution/
Dang, Wenqi. “How Culture Shapes Environmental Public Participation: Case Studies of China, the Netherlands, and Italy,” Journal of Chinese Governance, March 7, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/23812346.2018.1443758
[1] “Chinese Culture, Tradition, and Customs.” PSU-PKU, n.d, http://elements.science.psu.edu/psu-pku/student-resources/resources-for-penn-state-students/chinese-culture-tradition-and-customs
[2] Allen, Buchanan. “Revolution.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, August 21, 2017, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/revolution/
[3] Wenqi, Dang. “How Culture Shapes Environmental Public Participation: Case Studies of China, the Netherlands, and Italy,” Journal of Chinese Governance, March 7, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/23812346.2018.1443758
[4] Dang.