Conceptualizing the cultural and political facets of “Chinese Nationalism” in an era of China’s global rise

Abstract

Understanding Chinese nationalism and national identity is of primary importance in comprehending the increasingly assertive role that a rising China plays on the global political scene. But "Chinese nationalism" is a very difficult concept to deal with due to differences in the Western and Chinese understandings of the term. This article attempts to bridge the gap by analyzing both Chinese and Western conceptualizations of the term and discussing the difference between patriotism and nationalism and their interchange in China today. The importance of nationalism/ patriotism in shaping modern Chinese society is also recognized by the Chinese state, that deliberately fosters patriotic sentiment among the young generation through the Patriotic Education Campaign. Material from this campaign is used to provide an important indication of the patriotic content of current Chinese state nationalism.

The vision of ideological culture in contemporary Chinese education: preserving society and state (La perspectiva de la cultura ideológica en la educación china contemporánea: preservar la sociedad y el estado)

“…The importance of nationalism and patriotism in shaping China's modernized society has been partially explored (Gries et al, 2011). It is believed that the Chinese government deliberately encourages patriotic sentiments among young people through ideological and patriotic education (Bislev & Li, 2014). Attention is drawn to the role of effective teaching of traditional Chinese culture and perception by students of the government's ideologies and policies (Zhao, 2000).…”

Consumer nationalism in digital space: A case study of the 2017 anti-lotte boycott in China

“…While both phenomena involve strong expressions of belonging and devotion to one’s country, nationalist expressions of this devotion tend to be more vigorous, aggressive, and extremist than patriotic expressions and more likely to lead to boycotts, buycotts, and other displays of rejecting foreign countries ( Baughn and Yaprak, 1996; Druckman, 1994; Kosterman and Feshbach, 1989). In Chinese, the key terms are minzu zhuyi , literally ‘nation-ism’ or ‘ethnic-group-ism,’ and aiguo zhuyi , literally ‘love-country-ism’ and roughly equivalent to ‘patriotism.’ While patriotism is more commonly used to describe ‘both the current wave of popular nationalism in China and the state sponsored ideology’ (Bislev and Li, 2014: 25), the anti-foreign sentiment is often seen as a distinctive form of bottom-up nationalism tightly connected to the so-called ‘victimization narrative’ associated with Chinese beliefs about a ‘century of humiliation’ (Woods and Dickson, 2017: 167). Consumer nationalism in China thus embodies the complicated coalescing of a state-sponsored patriotic ideology of ‘love one’s country’ and social actors’ impulse to reject and condemn other countries in a highly visible and extreme form of nationalism that helps to shape the nationalistic discourse.…”

The visual politics of Brand China: Exceptional history and speculative future

“…The concept of nationalism has multiple definitions and applications within Chinese modern history and debates. Its usage here refers to aiguo zhuyi , translated as patriotism, which according to Bislev and Li ( 2014 ), describes the popular nationalism and the loyalty to the Chinese nation that have circulated in the country in recent years. This nationalism has been aided by a cultural rejuvenation inspired by the country’s long and continuous history and its imperial past.…”