Inner Mongolia in the Philosophical Optics of Spatial Marginality Discourse

Reviewed by: Religion and Nationalism in Chinese Societies ed. by Cheng-Tian Kuo Jonathan Brasnett Cheng-tian Kuo, ed., Religion and Nationalism in Chinese Societies. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press B.V., 2017. 425 pp. €109 (hb) ISBN 978-94-6298-439-4 Religion and Nationalism in Chinese Societies is an impressive volume that aims to explore the evolution of religion-state relations, the influence of religion in nationalist discourse and the phenomenon of nationalism as a quasi-religion in the “Greater China” region (i.e., China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong). Kuo’s introduction lays out the competing theories of modernism, which sees religion as having no place in the modern Chinese polities, and revisionism, which holds that religion and politics have influenced one another throughout Chinese dynastic history and that this has continued into modern China, with nationalism replacing religion as the primary tool for strengthening the legitimacy of the rulers. He summarizes the current context in contemporary “Greater China,” arguing that the People’s Republic of China (PRC, or mainland China) mobilizes a “political Trinity: patriotism, socialism, and the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)” with all other religions subservient (p. 13); in the Republic of China (ROC, or Taiwan), religions enjoy both freedom of worship and freedom to influence politics; in Hong Kong, a “civil religion” is developing which defends democratic values but remains fragile (p. 14). Part I of the volume examines the nexus between Chinese religion and nationalism before the foundation of the PRC in 1949. Chapter 2, by Chi-shen Chang, explores the different form of “Chineseness” or Chinese identity, which form the basis of modern Chinese nationalism. This “Chineseness” could have a political-geographic connotation, based on the territory historically controlled by Chinese rulers; it could have a cultural connotation, based on sharing a common “language, costumes, customs, and values” (p. 62); or it could have an ethnic connotation based on common Han ethnicity descended from the mythical Yellow Emperor. Chang cites Wang Fuzhi 王夫之, the seventeenth-century Chinese philosopher, who argued that Chinese identity was based on the Confucian ideal of defending the Chinese territory, culture and ethnicity from barbarian invasions, which remains a key aspect of “Chineseness” to this day. [End Page 101] The third chapter, by Julia C. Schneider, examines the ways in which China sought to assimilate or “sinicize” those living within its territory who did not share the same Chinese linguistic, cultural, ethnic or even national identity. Applying Liang Qichao’s 梁啟超 concept of “lesser nationalism,” which regards those who are not ethnically Han residing inside the Chinese territory as inferior, she argues that the Ming and Qing dynasties undertook “Confucian civilizing” missions to assimilate other ethnic groups to the dominant Han culture. Likening this practice to Christian missionizing, Schneider insists that the Han Chinese perceived their Confucian values and culture as supreme, thereby justifying expansionism and sinicization during the Ming and Qing dynasties, which continues to inspire Chinese nationalism today. The fourth chapter, by Adam Yuet Chau, discusses different “spheres” (jie 界) that formed in Chinese society as it modernized in the early 20th century, each advocating on behalf of different interest groups, including the scholarly sphere, the minorities sphere, the political sphere, and the religion sphere. These spheres, in theory, should complement each other in a functioning modern state, but during the Maoist era of the PRC, many of them, including religion, were deprived of their autonomy and co-opted by the CCP to serve as “instruments in the state’s effort to mobilize society for building socialism” (p. 132). Chau argues that, in an effort to ensure that the religion sector could never be influenced by foreign interests, the CCP encouraged the creation of representational bodies for each religion which are amenable to state control, fostering greater Chinese nationalism among actors in the state-sanctioned religion sphere. Chapter 5, by Robert D. Weatherly and Qiang Zhang, outlines two different types of nationalism employed by the CCP, and gives an example of each type. First, confrontational nationalism emphasizes one’s victimization at the hands of an “enemy” by focusing on a symbolic injustice. The CCP has used this approach by often highlighting the Yuanmingyuan incident (1860), in...

The study of youth work in People's Republic of China (PRC) is important. More than 20 percent of all human beings are Chinese, and Chinese account for an even larger share of Third World citizens. Any claims to universality of a theory, skill, or occupation must confront Chinese experience. Canton is one of PRC's most important windows on outside world. It has experienced great Western impact. The Cantonese are affluent, at least by Chinese standards, and they enjoy many social and recreational activities. Canton's youth population--over 1.5 million, or about 26 percent of city's total population--has been affected by open door policy of last 14 years. The Guangzhou Qing Nian Wen Hua Gong (referred to as the Program) youth services center is one of oldest youth programs in PRC. Youths' value systems; moral standards; ways of living; political thoughts; and concepts of human relationships, time, and welfare have changed greatly during development of emerging market economy (Cao, 1989). Because PRC appears committed to this open door policy (Wang, 1989), it is likely that Program will provide a model for similar projects in other cities in China. Other youth services centers, particularly those situated in coastal open door cities, inevitably will experience same process of development. Because this type of project is institutionalized by government and Communist Party of China (CPC) as a major vehicle for delivering services to young people, Program provides a picture both of current youth work and of its possible future direction in PRC. Yet Program offers an optimal view of such services in PRC, given that Canton is a wealthy city and a showcase for implementation of government's open door policy. This article is based on my years of direct contact with youth organizations in PRC, site visits to Program, in-depth discussions with local cadres and staff responsible for youth services, and observation of youth activities in Canton. It examines Program's philosophy and goals, administration, and services in light of problems caused by modernization in PRC. The Program The Program was initiated in 1950s. Since establishment of present regime, these types of youth services have provided cultural and leisure activities for youths (Canton Qing Nian Wen Hua Gong, 1989). Youth services expanded after trauma of Cultural Revolution, downfall of Gang of Four, and confirmation of open door policy by CPC in 1978. Philosophy and Goals The avowed goal of Program is to develop a new generation of socialist youths with distinctive qualities of so-called Four Qualities of New Man--ideals, moral virtues, intelligence, and discipline (Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee, 1986). The Program's purpose is to inspire young people to have ideals; to learn modern knowledge; to develop appropriate socialist values, attitudes, and patriotism; and to obey law (Xie, 1989). Throughout, it is clear that Program's dominant goals are political: to educate young people to be supporters and followers of socialist enterprise. Consequently, Program is politically guided and administratively supervised by CPC. Related to its goals, Program is organized to fulfill four specific programmatic functions: (1) to carry out political education, (2) to promote and enrich cultural activities among young people, (3) to organize Communist Youth League's (CYL) cultural and recreational activities, and (4) to offer training for various types of talents among youths (Y. C. Li, 1990). Youth work in PRC is therefore closely related to ideological identity and national development; it is centered on Marxist thought and is developed throughout Communist Revolution (Huang, 1988; Yang, 1990). The Program's charter defines it as link between CYL and youths. …

Introduction Human rights, renquan, is not an indigenous Chinese term.1 In fact, renquan is a borrowed term from Japan that entered into China with Nationalist leaders bringing back new ideals after their return to China from exile in Japan (Angle, 2002; Svensson, 1996). Renquan does not originally exist in Chinese, nor does its Japanese equivalent jinken exist in Japanese. They are direct translations of human ren (Chinese) or jin (Japanese) and rights quan (Chinese) or ken (Japanese). Scholars of Chinese history and philosophy have connected human rights with Confucian notions like ren and li trying to establish that some kind of notion of human rights existed in China prior to Western influence (Peerenboom, 1993, 1995; Angle 2002). However, these ideals are quite far from the human rights as embodied in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNUDHR) from 1948. The origins of the human rights discourse in the West are equally problematic.2 However, there is agreement that human rights originated in the West with the concept of Natural Law, and developed during the age of Enlightenment. For the purposes of this chapter, human rights as defined in the United Nations treaties will be used as a reference point.3 It is recognised that the UN is far from being a truly ‘international’ organisation with its problematic and dated structure.4 However, as it is the closest to an ‘international organisation’ that we have to date, its treaties dealing with human rights will be used as reference definitions of ‘human rights’. The ‘universalist’ versus ‘relativist’ debate in human rights is very controversial and due to space limitations the chapter does not go into this discussion. The focus of this piece is on China’s concept of human rights, which started from a ‘universalist’ stance among Chinese intellectuals, but as it became an issue in policy, increasingly turned ‘relativist’. This chapter will examine the evolution of human rights in China – a product of Western influence that merged with local culture and traditions and developed in cooperation with Japan, and more recently with Asian countries and the global South. It will begin by tracing the origins and establishment of human rights in China. Though it is recognised that human rights is a broad concept, ranging from first, second, and third generation rights, the aim of this chapter is to trace the development of the concept in China, thus the definition of human rights will not be narrowed down. The analysis of the evolution of human rights in China begins with the Qing dynasty during which the human rights concept first entered China, and continues to the present day. In this discussion, China is understood as a continuum from Qing dynasty (1644-1912), the Republican period (1912-1949), and the People’s Republic of China (1949-present). The first section of this chapter examines how the concept of human rights entered China and developed domestically under external influences (both intellectual and political), while the second section of this chapter covers the projection of ‘Chinese human rights’ or rather the ‘export’ of a Chinese version of human rights. Through the examples of Chinese human rights White Papers, the Asian Values movement and survival emissions in climate change negotiations, it will be examined how human rights – originally an ‘import’ from the West – has become a Chinese ‘export’ post-Tiananmen.

The frequent rebellions in Northern Manchuria during the Third Revolutionary War occurred in the special context of the struggle between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) for Northeast China after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.The rebellion reached its peak during the KMT's attack on Northeast China, followed by a second wave of rebellion after the defeat in the Defensive Battle of Siping.It tended to disappear after the downfall of the Jiang Pengfei Group.In addition to the blind recruitment of the CPC in traditional narratives, the instigation of the KMT, the traditional mutiny of the old army, the limitations of the early work of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, the early activities of the KMT, and the regional conflicts between the local and foreign forces are also important reasons for the concentration of rebellions.

West Liaohe Basin is one of the key regions in the West development strategies implemented by the Chinese Government,and its eco-environment is vulnerable.Study on land reclamation and its influence on environment is the only way to explore the cause of land desertification and seek for the proper pattern of land use. (1)This paper examines changes of the land reclamation in West Liaohe Basin in about 100 years(1902-1990).At the end of the Qing Dynasty,it had no land to open up in the south of West Liaohe,but areas of plowland got increased in counties and Qis(banners) in the north of West Liaohe.In the period of Republic of China,much plowland was turned into wasteland in the south of West Liaohe,but in the north of West Liaohe,a great amount of grassland was developed into arable land.After liberation(1949),because of unreasonable land policies,all grassland was almost opened up completely. (2)Above all,natural environment in West Liaohe Basin has been greatly influenced.First,vegetation was destroyed,so the virgin forest of the Qing Dynasty now becomes the secondary forest dominately composed of mountain polar and white pirch,and the thick forest gets the thin one.Secondly,wild animals lost their natural living environment owing to vegetation destruction,so small animals such as rabbits,pheasants,crows,pied magpies and so on,now become rarer and rarer besides of macro-animals being extinct. (3)Soil erosion happened in the Qing Dynasty,lately reclamation took place at a large scale at the end of the Qing Dynasty,much plowland changed into wasteland in Republic of China,and extensive reclamation after liberation makes it on the rise.

The article analyzes the main provisions of the monograph “Modern Chinese State. Vol. 1: Basic Institutions of State Power and Administration”, published in 2022 by the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the context of the problematization of scholarly studies of Chinese law. The authors of the article give a brief description of the main issues disclosed in the monograph, such as: administrative divisions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC); population control and registration; the judicial system of the People’s Republic of China; the Public Prosecutor’s Office; control (supervisory) committees; and so on. At the same time, attention is focused on those provisions of the monograph that contribute to the search for solutions to problematic issues relevant to lawyers studying the law of the People’s Republic of China. This is, in particular, about the lawmaking of the state bodies of the PRC with the understanding of the role of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in this activity, on the Legal Status of the President of the People’s Republic of China, on the Nature of CPC Acts, as well as Joint Acts of the Central Party Organs and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, on the role of judicial acts in the light of the system of sources of Chinese law. A number of areas of legal regulation have been identified, where the experience of the People’s Republic of China can be used in lawmaking and law enforcement in the Russian Federation. It is concluded that the monograph systematizes and increases knowledge about the state-legal reality of the PRC, allows to achieve a better understanding of the law of China.

This chapter studies how Zhou Enlai participated in the first Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)–Communist Party of China (CPC) United Front against the Beiyang warlords upon returning home from Europe through newly released documents, as well as how the assassination of the Beiyang-warlord leader, Zhang Zuolin, by the Japanese Kwantung Army, affected the civil war in China and Zhou’s career through newly released oral history of those who were directly involved in the assassination, including that of Zhang’s eldest son, Zhang Xueliang (1901–2001).

The article is devoted to identifying and studying the factors that determine the place and role load of discourse in the ideological work of the CPC (Communist Party of China) and the development of political science in the PRC (People’s Republic of China). Particular attention is paid to the role of the discursive power of the PRC in global governance. Based on the analysis of the discourse of influence on the mechanisms of communication of ideology, that discourse is a tool of the CPC for ideological work, capable of playing a positive role in the conditions of competition between the powers. In the development of political science, discourse is able to set the CPC the desired vector and theoretical basis, it promotes support, which is used by the CPC to strengthen its legitimacy. The persistence of the new generation of Chinese leader Xi Jinping in relation to discursive pow-er shows that China will no longer adhere to the diplomatic policy of maintaining modesty, but will gradually transform its role in the international system and adopt a more active policy of global governance.

China University Student Database – Republic of China (CUSD-ROC) contains multi-dimensional information of nearly 120,000 students from 33 universities and colleges. The information includes their native place, home address, and the geographical location of their high schools and universities. Through quantitative analysis, the authors calculate and compare the information and study the patterns, characteristics, and changes of the geographical origins of university students in the Republican period from a dynamic perspective. The study demonstrates that the balanced national unified candidate supply mechanism under the imperial examination system of the Qing dynasty was completely broken down by the Republican period, that a large majority of university students came from China’s southeastern and central cities, and that the scale of candidate supply differed significantly from province to province. Moreover, the trend for university students to gather in central cities is obvious and intensified in this period. The level and intensity of modern education in Republican China differed regionally, which had a profound influence on the progress and characteristics of modernization in China.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) pointed out that we should persist in educating talents for the Party and the country. The reality shows that paying attention to youth and attaching importance to youth is the magic weapon for the CPC to maintain its vitality. For whom to train people, who to train, and how to train people, these three issues are crucial to both the Chinese nation and the CPC. Therefore, in the process of shaping young Marxists, only by grasping the characteristics, finding contradictions and grasping the laws, can young people better grow into the backbone of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In view of this, this paper proposes four paths: Strengthening ideological guidance and cultivating family and country feelings; Pay attention to the guidance of youth action and stimulate their subjective initiative; Stimulate youth's action force and promote youth self-discipline; Build a positive cultural atmosphere.

Contents 1. We live in a world of diverse peoples. About 3,000 ethnic groups live in over 200 countries and regions in today's world. The overwhelming majority of countries are inhabited by multi-ethnic groups. 2. China is a unified multi-ethnic country jointly created by the people of all its ethnic groups. In the long course of historical evolution people of all ethnic groups in China have maintained close contacts, developed interdependently, communicated and fused with one another, and stood together through weal and woe, forming today's unified multi-ethnic Chinese nation, and promoting the development of the nation and social progress. 3. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, following the guideline of unity among all ethnic groups for common prosperity and drawing on China's historical experience and the useful practices of other countries, always with a view to China's actual situation, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have carved out a path for the successful solution to ethnic issues with Chinese characteristics, exercised the ethnic policy featuring equality, unity, regional ethnic autonomy, and common prosperity for all ethnic groups, thus forming a relatively complete ethnic policy system.

Between 1949, the year of Beiping’s (now Beijing) peaceful liberation and the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and 1956, when government-private joint ownership was established through socialist reconfiguration of the publishing industry, China’s capital saw a series of changes to its publishing business. As a result, what had once been a highly decentralized industry in which government-owned and privately-owned enterprises co-existed quickly transformed into a uniformly state-controlled publicity machine with publishing, distribution, and printing as its foundation. Beijing became a pioneer and representative in building a publishing system in the People’s Republic, and the Beijing model was soon adopted nationwide. It would be difficult to overstate the role the establishment of a state-owned publishing industry played in publicizing the policies of the Communist Party of China (CPC), disseminating knowledge among the public and setting new social trends. This development had a huge impact on the Chinese people, for whom it ushered in a new era of reading.

The Chinese nation is a nation yearning for a bright future, which has been fully demonstrated in the process of national salvation and peaceful development. Since the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), this ideal has become a reality. It has not only realized the “dream of building an independent country”, but also persisted in the “dream of strengthening oneself independently” and forged the “dream of a strong country”. Therefore, the Chinese dream not only enlightens and warms all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, but also inspires and unites the great strength of China, making it a common ideal for the Chinese nation to work as one. From the perspective of historical process, this paper analyzes and studies the stage in which the Chinese Communist Party casts the Chinese dream, which will further strengthen our understanding of the Chinese dream and enrich and develop the theory of the Chinese dream.

The political isolation between Taiwan and the Mainland China during the Japanese-ruled period did not in any way halt cultural exchange between the two straits. Large theatrical troupes in China have staged numerous performance in Taiwan. This has greatly enriched and improved the aesthetic perceptions of Taiwanese on dramas, play programs of local performance, acting performance, and stage arts. In fact, the qualities in traditional Taiwanese opera is, to a certain level, a reflection of the influence brought about by the theaters of China. This paper seeks to conduct a study on Fookien, which is greatly similar to the Taiwan in terms of culture, arts, customs and traditions. Research scope is based on records found in the ”New Taiwan Daily News” which contained a majority of the opera activities at that time. Relevant records and critic's reviews on Fookienese opera Troupe's performance in Taiwan between 1899 and 1936 and relevant documents from the Japanese-ruled period were used. This paper began with an overview of the development of Taiwanese opera during the Japanese-ruled period and a clarification of the relationship between Taiwanese opera during the Ching Dynasty and Fookienese opera. It then conducted a discussion on the background and activities relating to the performance of the Fookienese opera troupe in Taiwan to gain an understanding on the historical features of Fookienese opera troupe's performance in Taiwan. Finally, an analysis on the impact and changes in Taiwanese opera was conducted to show the interactive process between these periods. It is the objective of this study to provide a more objective and comprehensive look at the historical development of Taiwanese opera by studying the cultural exchange between Taiwan and Fookien opera during the Japanese-ruled period.

Through the in-depth study of fractal art theory and cloud shoulder in Qing Dynasty, this paper discusses the innovation and value of applying fractal art theory to cloud shoulder pattern design in Qing Dynasty. It aims to make traditional culture more attractive by means of design techniques and expressions that are popular with contemporary people. The article first analyzes the research status and value of the combination of fractal art and modern folk. Then it explains the basic principle of fractal art and reviews the history of Yunbei in Qing Dynasty. On this basis, the innovation of this research direction in pattern, structure and material technology is elaborated, and some practical cases are analyzed to demonstrate the innovation of applying fractal art theory to the creative design of cloud shoulder in Qing Dynasty. This paper not only enriches the theoretical framework of cloud shoulder design, but also provides a valuable reference for the modern transformation of traditional dress culture.