Today the discussions about the theme of nationalism go far beyond international questions and tend to concern the legitimacy of the political regime and its ability to raise China to the rank of Number One World Power, however much this ambition may be a dream. The events of 1999 furthered this development. Is not this nationalism the only one capable of expressing a real ideological consensus in society, far from the manipulations of political and intellectual elites driven above all by ambition and the struggle for power? It is true that before this historic turning-point, China was much more an empire than a Nation State, a civilisation and a culture dominated by one race (zu)—the Han—rather than a society brought together by a national project, and even less so by a modern citizenship. Men and Ideas] Paris, Hatier, 1989, p. 565). Most citizens had multiple identities, of which the locality was more important than the nation as a whole. ... pp. The fact remains that Wang Xiaodong, Song Qiang and others like them developed from this period onwards an autonomous strategy and position which largely contributed to the spontaneous demonstrations in May 1999, protesting against the accidental bombing of China's embassy in Belgrade by NATO forces, and to the violent and probably less spontaneous demonstrations in April 2005 against Japan22. Ma Bufang presented himself as a Chinese nationalist who fought against Western imperialism to the people of China in order to deflect criticism by opponents that his government was feudal and oppressed minorities like Tibetans and Buddhist Mongols. The Japanese attempted to approach him however their attempts at gaining his support were unsuccessful. [36] Ma Hushan proclaimed his loyalty to Nanjing, denounced Sheng Shicai as a Soviet puppet, and fought against Soviet invasion in 1937. 5It is first of all an official nationalism, inspired by communist ideology and the preoccupation of the Communist Party (CP) with maintaining its monopoly of politics: this is synonymous in China with “patriotism”. In a way the failure of this campaign showed how little it was “popular” and above all how unrealistic, in a country whose trade with the nation which is the target of its invective reached 168 billion dollars in 2004, ranking it second among China's trading partners, after the United States (with 252 billion dollars according to American statistics). Certain Japanese nationalist groups are anti-Chinese. The main method by which they accomplished control of the Chinese heartland was by portraying themselves as enlightened Confucian sages part of whose goal was to preserve and advance Chinese civilization. Despite his ambiguities, Yan Fu (1852-1921) is one of the first and the most representative of this trend12. However, beyond this feeling of insecurity, several forms of nationalism co-exist in this country, as they do in any other. With hindsight, one can first of all state that there was then a very clear convergence between the position of the government and the feelings expressed in the streets. A final point is that these demonstrations brought together a fairly limited number of participants (between 10,000 and 20,000), for a country supposedly unanimously hostile to Japan. 4 (July-August 2004). 8It is widely accepted that Chinese nationalism took form only as a reaction to the shock of forced contact with the West, after the Opium War of 1840. We know that Chinese nationalists, and the Communist Party in particular, continue to accuse Western imperialism of being the main instigator of these failures, in particular by imposing inequitable treaties on their country, whereas historiography as a whole has shown that the weakening of the Empire predated 1840, and was due to a number of internal causes (in particular the doubling of the population between 1700 and 1800). But it also finds itself constrained to use cunning and to conceal any flexibility under an intransigent and even aggressive discourse when it decides to reach a compromise. The authorities in the People's Republic still today consider as “patriotic” any Chinese person who shows allegiance to the state, renders it service and accepts the directives of the Communist Party, whether they are communist or not. The presentation by Tokyo of a written apology to Seoul in 1998 was the occasion for an official offensive by Peking, aimed at obtaining the same commitment (when a verbal apology had already been made in 1995). There is no doubt that much will also depend on the way in which these partners manage this nationalism, and, without acceding to its unreasonable demands, find ways to provide it with balanced and persuasive answers. [citation needed], Ma Qixi was a Muslim reformer, leader of the Xidaotang, and he taught that Islam could only be understood by using Chinese culture such as Confucianism. The reason primordial nationalism is inherently chau- of Chinese nationalism. Having said that, and despite the anti-Japanese demonstrations in April 2005, this form of nationalism is today less perceptible within Chinese society, and even among the elite as a whole, which is perhaps a sign of a positive development. Chen Zhimin, “Nationalism, Internationalism and Chinese Foreign Policy”. That sense of superiority underwent a series of terrible shocks in the 19th century, including large-scale internal revolts, and more grievously the systematic gaining and removal of special rights and privileges by foreign nations who proved their military superiority during the First and Second Opium Wars, based on modern technology that was lacking in China. Chinese nationalism emerged from diverse ideological sources, including Chinese traditional Confucianism, Marxism and Western liberalism. [9] Liang's critique of the Qing court and the Man-Han relations laid the foundation for anti-Manchuism, an ideology that early Republican revolutionaries advocated in their efforts to overthrow the Qing dynasty and found a new Republic. Liang Qichao, a late Qing reformist who participated in the Hundred Days' Reform of 1898, contended that the boundary between Han and Man must be erased (ping Man-Han zhi jie). It is true that Yan Fu, and then Sun Yat-sen felt that they had to move forward prudently and prepare the people by education, and therefore by what were once again Confucian methods, for democracy. 49 Targeting the political eliteIt would be a mistake, however, to see these texts as confined to attacks on the liberal intelligentsia. Indeed, despite a certain evolution in historiography, not only does the present Chinese government continue to consider the Boxers as nationalist heroes and to propagate this idea in the country's school textbooks, but the many who have been pushed aside by economic growth—while certain sections of the elite like to manipulate them and use them in the service of their political ambitions—might well in future find in the expatriate population in China the most obvious scapegoats for their misfortunes. These last-minute efforts were best exemplified by Liang Qichao, a late Qing reformer who failed to reform the Qing government in 1896 and was later expelled to Japan, where he began work on his ideas of Chinese nationalism. Until the 19th century, the Chinese were proud of its civilization and considered themselves as the centre of the world. Hu Songshan harshly criticized those who were non-patriotic and those who taught anti-nationalist thinking, saying that they were fake Muslims. [1] Chinese nationalism as it emerged in the early 20th century was based on the experience of European nationalism, especially as viewed and interpreted by Sun Yat-sen. Symbolised by the concept, favoured by Hu Jintao, of China's “peaceful rise”, can this nationalism eventually give birth to a democratic nationalism, at once measured, open, and concerned with defending not only the interests of the Chinese nation but also those of the men and women who belong to it? Peter Ferdinand argues that it thus becomes a dream about a future in which China "will have recovered its rightful place. It is a similar case with perception of Japan, which remains largely in thrall to trends from a past that is long gone. Chinese Nationalism and its Demographics Few studies within the literature on Chinese nationalism have examined its relationship to various demographic variables. An ideal of "a morally just universe," anti-imperialism made racism appear shameful and thus took over its dominant role in the conceptualization of Chinese nationalism. Chinese nationalism is a powerful force that scares the Communist Party– and should probably scare us too. [citation needed], Ma Fuxiang, a Chinese Muslim general and Kuomintang member, was another Chinese nationalist. Since then, the phrase has become the signature political slogan of the Xi era. In this article, the researcher Wang Zhongwen advised the United States to distance itself from the problem, and to let China assume its responsibilities, which is to say to influence Pyongyang itself, since its interests really lie in favouring the establishment of a de-nuclearised Korean peninsula. [27] Ma Fuxiang was loyal to the Chinese government, and crushed Muslim rebels when ordered to. The same is true of the nationalism propagated within the armed forces, some studies of which have revealed its deeply anti-American and anti-Japanese character21. Edward Friedman, “Chinese Nationalism, Taiwanese Autonomy and the Prospects of a Larger War”, In particular the failure in 1993 of China's candidacy to host the 2000 Olympic Games, and the unexpected inspection by the Americans in the same year of the Chinese ship. This division is rejected by most Chinese and many non-Chinese scholars, who believe that Friedman has overstated the differences between the north and the south, and point out that the divisions within Chinese society do not fall neatly into "north-south" divisions. [citation needed], Hu Songshan, a Muslim Imam from Ningxia, was a Chinese nationalist and preached Chinese nationalism and unity of all Chinese people, and also against foreign imperialism and other threats to China's sovereignty. (. 63The game is not yet won, so loaded is the process with jolts and even social crises. [55] China has also pursued ethno-nationalist policies aimed at appealing to its diaspora abroad. [32], Ma Bufang, a Chinese Muslim general who was part of the Kuomintang, supported Chinese nationalism and tolerance between the different Chinese ethnic groups. Chinese nationalism emerged in the late Qing dynasty (1636–1912) in response to the humiliating defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the invasion and pillaging of Beijing by Eight-Nation Alliance. Certain fora specialise in nationalist diatribes (such as Qiangguo [Strong Country], or Jianchuan zhishi [Knowledge of Warships]). Written by young intellectuals (Qiao Bian, Zhang Zangzang and Song Qiang) based on the model of Japan Can Say No by the far-right member of parliament Shinaro Ishihara, this book was followed by many others which, often for primarily commercial reasons, sought to exploit this new “seam”. Some commentators have proposed that "positive nationalism" could be an important unifying factor for the country as it has been for other countries. This evolution has led leadership circles in return to adopt an ambivalent attitude to this trend, hesitating between instrumentalisation and control, particularly with the aim of maintaining more margin for manœuvre on the international level. Thus, paradoxically, although China produced one of the world's greatest civilizations and still has a powerful and tenacious culture, it "The many facets of Chinese nationalism.". Chinese nationalism may be good for creating a sense of national unity but it can be damaging on the world stage. , Cambridge University Press, 2001, pp. The nationwide image of China as a superior Celestial Empire at the center of the universe was shattered, and last-minute efforts to modernize and strengthen the old system were unsuccessful. [35] The Chinese Muslims even forced the Uighur carpet industry at Khotan to change its design to Chinese versions. 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