Dialectic of the Chinese Revolution
Dialectic of the Chinese Revolution

Author: Jiwei Ci

Publisher:

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780804779364

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Behind the profound social and economic changes now taking place in China is a complex history of communism's invention and loss of meaning. This history, from 1949 to the present, has been extensively studied by scholars using the methods of history and political science. Dialectic of the Chinese Revolution makes an innovative departure from these studies through a series of reflections on the history of communist China as a history of consciousness. It focuses on important aspects of the Chinese experience - such as memory and amnesia, energy and meaning, and the center and periphery mentality - that are amenable more to a philosophical and psychological approach than to an empirical one. The author goes beyond the concept of utopianism that is customarily applied to the Chinese communist experience by viewing this epoch in terms of the movement from utopianism to nihilism to hedonism. He traces the path of Chinese communism from the early belief that denial and hard work combined with Marxism and Maoism would create a utopia of material and spiritual abundance to the disappointment of this belief and the ensuing search for individual pleasure and prosperity. In this progression, which the author describes as the unfolding of the hedonistic potential of utopianism, Marxism became China's road to capitalism and consumerism. The book consists of essays that approach the trajectory of utopianism-nihilism-hedonism from six different viewpoints: the impact of Marxism on China's relationship to itself and to the West, the manipulation of language and cultural memory, the effects of founding morality on a revolutionary teleology, the tension between the ascetic and the hedonistic aspects of utopianism, the paralysis of the will resulting from continual mobilizations and failures, and the relationship of past, present, and future as mirrored in constantly shifting beliefs.

Mao Tse-Tung’s Theory of Dialectic
Mao Tse-Tung’s Theory of Dialectic

Author: F.Y.K. Soo

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 9400983891

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The year 1979 ushered in a new phase in China's long and continuous revolu tion. Currently, this new phase is being symbolically referred to, by the Chinese leaders themselves, as the 'New Long March' (a continuation of the legendary and historical Long March) in terms of modernization, which comprises the Four Modernizations: Agriculture, Industry, Science and Technology, and Military Defense. Such an all-encompassing attempt at modernization may appear, to some at least, to be something new, or may indicate a radical shift in her policy. But upon closer examination, this decision seems only to reflect an historical continuity in terms of the two major long-term goals of the Chinese Revolution: 'national independence' and 'modernization' (or 'industrialization'). The former would make China strong; the latter, wealthy. For, ever since the Opium War in 1840 and throughout the Revolutions of 1911 and 1949, China has always pursued these two revolutionary goals, though with different emphases at different times. This has been especially true during the past three decades as this twofold goal has dictated all of China's important policies, both domestic and foreign. In other words, while the concrete policies may have appeared to be lacking in unity at times, they have been formulated with the specific intent of achieving national independence and modernization. From this perspective, the New Long March marks the passage of post-Mao China beyond the transition of succession toward the continued pursuit of the same revolutionary goals.

Dialectic of the Chinese Revolution
Dialectic of the Chinese Revolution

Author: Jiwei Ci

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0804723737

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In this progression, which the author describes as the unfolding of the hedonistic potential of utopianism, Marxism became China's road to capitalism and consumerism.

Words and Their Stories
Words and Their Stories

Author: Ban Wang

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2010-10-05

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9004188614

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In spite of dislocations and ruptures in China’s revolutionary language, to rethink this discourse is to revisit a history in terms of sedimented layers of linguistic meanings and political aspirations. Earlier meanings of revolutionary words may persist or coexist with non-revolutionary rivals. Recovery of the vital uses of key revolutionary words projects critical alternatives in which contemporary capitalist myths can be contested.

China in Revolution
China in Revolution

Author: Mary Clabaugh Wright

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1968-01-01

Total Pages: 524

ISBN-13: 9780300014600

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“Great themes run through this book: local differentiation and societal integration, reform and revolution, innovation and renewal, conservatism and radicalism, tradition and modernity. All relate to the fascinating dialectic of Chinese history.” This comment by G. William Skinner aptly describes this pioneering volume in which twelve specialists in Chinese history discuss the great questions of history in the dramatic context of the “New China” of the early twentieth century. The work of young scholars from seven countries who have had access to Chinese, British, and French archives opened only in recent years, the book provides new findings that presage not only a reinterpretation of the Revolution of 1911 itself but also of the dynamic links between Imperial China and both the communist revolution of 1927-49 and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of today. "An outstanding example of historians’ inquiries is this collection of essays by 12 authorities, brilliantly edited by Mary Wright of Yale. Brilliant because unlike most such cooperative endeavors, the studies in this volume focus on a single major topic, China in the years around the revolution of 1911. The papers vary in scope, from a general interpretation of the origins of the warlord armies, which were to dominate Chinese political life until the mid-twenties, to a fascinating reconstruction of events hour-by-hour during the first week of the revolution in the city where it began, Wuchang. . . . This important work is bound to have a great impact on our understanding of modern China, and will surely stimulate further research in the period."—New York Times Book Review "Will set a style for ten to twenty years hence by all scholars of the subject."—John K. Fairbank.

The Chinese Revolution
The Chinese Revolution

Author: Edward Lazzerini

Publisher: Greenwood

Published: 1999-10-30

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13:

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The Chinese Revolution is long in the making, an unfolding process that has spanned most of the twentieth century. This comprehensive and ready-reference guide will help students and interested readers to understand the process and the events that have contributed to the ongoing revolution in the most populous nation on earth. Seven essays provide information and analysis of the revolution from the first decades of this century through 1998. Ready-reference components include lengthy biographical sketches of the seventeen most important and influential leaders in twentieth-century Chinese history, and the text of nine primary documents provides direct access to their words, which shaped the Revolution. A timeline of significant events, a glossary of selected terms, and an annotated bibliography of suggested reading for students add value to the guide. The first essay puts the Chinese Revolution into the context of Chinese culture and practice, especially in light of Confucian teaching, and examines national and international events that contributed to the Revolution. Five essays examine specific aspects of the Chinese Revolution: the thought of Mao Zedong; the political philosophy of Deng Xiaoping; the multiethnic character of China; China's relations with the United States and the Soviet Union; and China's interest in Hong Kong and Taiwan. A concluding essay assesses the consequences of the Chinese Revolution. The essays, biographical sketches, primary documents, timeline, and annotated bibliography all contribute to this comprehensive yet accessible student's guide.