Chineseness And Modernity In A Changing China Essays In Honour Of Professor Wang Gungwu

This book is a collection of essays in honour of Professor Wang Gungwu. Professor Wang is not only a great historian on Chinese history in general and the Chinese overseas in particular, but has much wider influence through remarkable domain crossing, namely spatial crossing characterised by geographical straddling between inside and outside of China, temporal crossing from the ancient past to the contemporary, inter-disciplinary crossing from history to the social sciences, and intellectual crossing from the academia to public activism. He has been a long-lasting source of inspiration for understanding some of the most pressing and complex issues in our times, including the nature of China's rise and its implications for the regional and world order. In a nutshell, this book presents Wang as a highly active educator-scholar who has achieved the highest academic standard as well as far-reaching influence over issues that concern all walks of life.By focusing on the theme of Chineseness and China's modernity, this book adds depth to the analysis of China's rise and its implications for the region and the world. It contains a chapter providing the most comprehensive and updated review of Wang's scholarship thus far. Another chapter demonstrates how Wang, based on his deep understanding of Chinese civilisation and history, articulates a distinct view of the world order that differs from either the thesis of 'Thucydides's trap' or the advocacy of mutual accommodation. Interestingly, this book also includes a chapter that highlights Wang's 'Southeast Asian-ness', suggesting that Wang's scholarship cautions against not only western-centric views towards China, but also Sino-centric views towards Southeast Asia. In short, this edited volume is both a reference book for understanding Wang's scholarship and an extension of his scholarship to the analysis of China's growing international influence and its implications for the world order.

For the past century, all kinds of Chinese people seemed to have tried to be ?modern?. At the same time, the standards of modernity have been set elsewhere and they seem always to be higher than what has been achieved. That makes most Chinese work harder, but some may well wonder if standards rise so that China will always get a poor report card at the end of each year.The ongoing drama of Chinese people seeking to be modern has been enacted in different parts of the world. There are interesting differences among these Chinese, depending on where they have been living. The general trend, however, is unmistakable. The striving for betterment is supported by a strong capacity to adapt and change, and this is reflected in the way the Chinese seize new opportunities when they occur. The essays here describe some of these efforts both inside and outside China, and form a small mosaic of Chinese practising the art of modernising.

This collection of essays represents current research in modern (post-1800) Chinese history. All contributors are former students of Professor C. Martin Wilbur, one of the great names in the China field over the past forty years, who recently retired from a long tenure as modern Chinese historian at Columbia University. While diverse in their subje

This book aims to contribute to the debate on 'authoritarian resilience' with empirical studies from a range of perspectives, including regime support, nationalism, environmental movement, ethnic conflicts and internet management. The chapters in this book centre around two separate but intertwined themes and are collated to discuss on the stability of China in Xi Jinping's era. The first theme examines changes in political attitudes and values among Chinese citizens, and the second focuses on the responses of the party-state and how it has made sophisticated the machine of social control.

This book is a celebration of the life, work, and impact of Professor Wang Gungwu over the past four decades. It commemorates his contribution to the study of Chinese history and the abiding influence he has exercised over later generations of historians, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

The book is part of the recent effort to catch up with the research on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Despite its omnipresence and pivotal role in running the country, there has been a conspicuous shortage of references to the Party in most studies related to China. In its stead, the academic literature as well as popular discussions has too often treated the CCP as a type of regime destined to the dustbin of history. The inadequacy of research in this area is understandable because CCP is a tightly organised Leninist party which has kept much of its internal affairs confidential. This book examines the key aspects of the transformation of CCP in the rapidly changing national and global context. It highlights the problems faced by the ruling Leninist party in adapting to a capitalistic environment that its organisations cannot fully control and its ideology cannot effectively rationalise. It also examines CCP's strategies for adaptation in the areas of ideological reformulation, party-society relations and the ways of exercising power and maintaining internal cohesion. In addition to helping the readers understand how China is ruled and how the Chinese system operates, the book also highlights the evolutionary dynamics of Chinese politics in the environment created by CCP's reform and open-door policies.

As China has become the world's second largest economy and risen rapidly amid various internal and external challenges, its profound social transformation and changing social policies are seemingly receiving inadequate attention from both academic and policy communities, especially in the Xi Jinping era since 2013. After decades of development, new social values, behaviours and organisations have emerged in China. Social changes and unresolved social issues are demanding for policy attention and proper governance.This book studies the important aspects of China's social transformation, policy and governance in recent years, including social stability maintenance, education, social media, industrial de-capacity and lay-off campaign, ethnic minority and ethnic policy, elderly care, poverty reduction and social governance. It will enable readers to have a better understanding of China's most important and pressing social issues and relevant social policies.

Nation and the Writing of History in China and Britain explores, through a comparative approach, the reception of the nationalist worldview and its effects on the practice of history in China and Britain. This book proposes that nationalism, rather than a political doctrine, is a way of making sense of the world which results from the combination of a set of definite assumptions. The work analyzes how each one of these premises was accepted and negotiated by literati, intellectuals, historians, and other scholars in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The results of this research showcase how the reception of the new nationalist worldview crucially affected images of the past, the present, and the future in both societies and decisively framed cultural, social, and political debate. In addition, they likewise evidence the fundamental role that historical narratives play in the crystallization of national identities. This book is perfect for readers interested in China and Britain during this time period, but also to anyone attracted to new ways of conceiving nationalism and its role in our world.